{"product_id":"on-the-nature-of-magic-isbn-9781803361345","title":"On the Nature of Magic","description":"\u003cb\u003eA Gothic supernatural mystery for fans for \u003ci\u003eThe Quickening\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Shape of Darkness, \u003c\/i\u003efeaturing real-life events and people, such as George Méliès and the Moberly-Jourdain incident, where two English women claim to have seen the ghost of Marie Antoinette in the gardens of Versailles.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1902. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHelena Walton-Cisneros, known for finding answers to the impossible, has started her own detective agency. She takes on two new uncanny cases, both located in Paris – which itself is too much of a coincidence to ignore. In the first case, two English women claim to have seen the ghost of Marie Antoinette in the gardens of Versailles. The second case is the murder of a young woman working at the mysterious Méliès Star Films studio outside Paris. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs Helena and her colleague Eliza investigate, they hear whispers of vanishings at Méliès Star Films, strange lights, spies, actors flying without ropes and connections to the occult. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat is George Méliès practising at his secretive film studio? And is it connected to the haunting in Versailles? Helena and Eliza will only find the answers if they accept the natural world is darker, stranger than they could ever have imagined…\"With a plot as labyrinthine as the catacombs of Paris, this is a hugely imaginative exploration of what happens when science and magic collide, and an insightful depiction of female companionship and determination.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLucie McKnight Hardy, author of \u003ci\u003eWater Shall Refuse Them\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"An intricately built tale of history, spiritualism, and magic; perfect for fans of Susannah Clarke.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA.C. Wise, author of \u003ci\u003eWendy, Darling\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Marian Womack is fiendishly inventive. She creates magic.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePriya Sharma, author of \u003ci\u003eOrmeshadow\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Like the fantastical early cinema at the centre of its plot, On the Nature of Magic occupies a region midway between science and sorcery – and Marian Womack excels at the tricky balancing act, mixing methodical deductive processes with bursts of wild imagination. Highly recommended to all lovers of gaslit crime and the Gothic!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTim Major, author of Sherlock Holmes and The Twelve Thefts of Christmas\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"An intoxicating journey through the occult demi-monde of the fin de siècle. Womack leads us down into an underworld rife with deceit and strange dangers.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eVerity Holloway, author of The Others of Edenwell\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The intricate plot seamlessly weaves together mystery, fantasy and some very curious historical incidents. A delightfully detailed puzzle box of a book.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA.J. Elwood, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Cottingley Cuckoo\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Golden Key\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith hints of the brooding Gothic of \u003ci\u003eRawblood\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRebecca, \u003c\/i\u003ethis wonderfully creepy historical novel makes it absolutely clear that Marian Womack is a rising star. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTim Major\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn intriguing and unsettling tale. . . Womack brings a great sense of the uncanny to the Fens. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlison Littlewood\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Golden Key\u003c\/i\u003e mesmerizes… A beguiling mystery that lingers long after reading. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKatherine Stansfield\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA fey, unsettling vision of Norfolk, and London, that fans of \u003ci\u003eThe Essex Serpent\u003c\/i\u003e will love... This book gives up its secrets like a puzzle box. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eG.V. Anderson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003efascinating, unsettling tale that shifts, mutates and changes meaning much like the eerie ruined house in the fens at the centre of this weird and brilliant debut novel. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLisa Tuttle\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Swimmers\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A meticulously detailed  novel set in a vivid, believable eco-dystopia... Womack draws in readers immediately with her dreamy depictions of the landscape and its dangers. At its heart, however, the novel is a probing examination of cultural and class differences. Readers will be captivated.\" – \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, Starred Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A richly imagined eco-gothic tale.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Exquisitely realised.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times, \u003c\/i\u003e10 Best SF Books of 2021\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor \u003ci\u003eAnnihilation\u003c\/i\u003e fans, the prose is fluid \u0026amp; gorgeously intimate. The questions of our future—a sea of plastic\/the intersection of class \u0026amp; climate change—are explored on a tender, personal scale. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eG.V. Anderson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWomack has an eye for both the beauty and the horror of the natural world. Like a strange fever dream, the world of \u003ci\u003eThe Swimmers\u003c\/i\u003e is uncanny and unfamiliar, wonderfully compelling and utterly inescapable. One of my favourite books of the year. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHelen Marshall\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eJane Eyre\u003c\/i\u003e meets \u003ci\u003eAnnihilation\u003c\/i\u003e in this ingenious, bewitching novel. The prose is as lush and terrifying as the warped jungle Earth has become. This is speculative fiction at its best: thought-provoking, riveting, and gorgeously told. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJennie Melamed\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWomack is an exciting and endlessly inventive writer. I look forward to reading everything she writes. \u003cb\u003eNaomi Booth\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWomack is a wonderful writer, and \u003ci\u003eThe Swimmers\u003c\/i\u003e is a marvellous, heartbreaking exploration of the world we are busy creating, and the world we must then inhabit. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAliya Whiteley\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eLost Objects\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Intriguing and illuminating… chockfull of interesting ideas about the natural world and ourselves. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJeff VanderMeer\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMarian Womack weaves together the lyricism of Angela Carter, the mad imagination of China Miéville, and the earthiness of Robert Macfarlane. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHelen Marshall\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLuminous and disturbing as the unearthly things they describe, Marian Womack’s gorgeously written tales map the shifting boundaries between waking life and dream, past and future and our own profoundly unsettled present. Reading them left me with goosebumps, and the craving for more stories by this supremely gifted new writer.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eElizabeth Hand\u003c\/b\u003eMarian Womack, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Golden Key \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e The Swimmers,\u003c\/i\u003e was born in Andalusia and educated in the UK. Her debut short story collection, \u003ci\u003eLost Objects \u003c\/i\u003e(Luna Press, 2018) was shortlisted for two BSFA awards and a BFA award. She is a graduate of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop, and she holds degrees from Oxford and Cambridge universities. Marian lives in Cambridge, at the edge of the Fens.","brand":"Titan Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301963944165,"sku":"NP9781803361345","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781803361345.jpg?v=1767734119","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/on-the-nature-of-magic-isbn-9781803361345","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}