The
House of Dead Maids
By Clare B. Dunkle. New York: Henry
Holt, 2010.
Edited by Reka Simonsen.
A chilling
prelude to Emily Brontė’s classic novel, Wuthering Heights.
I’m going on a blog tour. Look for me on these sites
to learn more about this book:
September 20—In
Bed With Books
September 21—The
Compulsive Reader
September 22—Teenreads.com
blog
September 23—The
Book Butterfly
September 24—Carrie’s
YA Bookshelf
September 27—The
Neverending Shelf
September 28—The
Book Faery
September 29—Bookworming
in the 21st Century
September 30—YA
Books Central
October 1—Rebecca’s
Book Blog
October 4—Babbling
Flow
October 7—Mundie
Moms
October 9—Jenn’s
Bookshelves
October 29—Cynsations
View the book trailer! Windows users, click
here. Apple users, click
here.
A black dress next to my black dress. Gray hands reaching for mine.
The old looking glass in the beaded frame returned only a suggestion
of features. I longed to see my new clothes, and as I stepped into
the passage, I was just turning over in my mind where I might have
seen a better mirror. When first I caught sight of the small figure
in black, I thought it was my reflection.
She stood very still in the dusky passage where the light was poorest.
Like me, she wore the black dress that proclaimed her a maid of
the house, but whereas mine was new, hers was spoiled by mildew
and smears of clay. Thin hair, dripping with muddy water, fell to
her shoulders in limp, stringy ropes. This was my companion of the
night before—and she was dead.
The child who will become Heathcliff is already a savage
little creature when Tabby Aykroyd arrives at Seldom House to be
his nursemaid. But the Yorkshire moors harbor far worse. The ghost
of the last maid will not leave Tabby in peace, yet this spirit
is only one of many.
As Tabby struggles to escape the evil forces that surround the house, she tries to befriend her uncouth young charge,
but her kindness cannot alter his fate. Long before he reaches the old farmhouse of Wuthering Heights,
Heathcliff has already doomed himself and any who try to befriend him.
To view a slideshow
of illustrations which will begin each chapter of the book, click
on the image above.
“Absolute creepiness”
—Bookends,
a Booklist blog
“Pagan magic, Heathcliff’s
back story and a lot of scary dead maids: Dunkle’s knack for
the creepy sets spines tingling ... For readers familiar with Brontë’s
novel, the final connection is a masterstroke; even those who don’t
get it will find this a keeper.”
—Kirkus
“Dunkle knows how to do gothic!”
—Becky’s
Book Reviews
“DEAD MAIDS is dark and beautiful, literary and lovely ...
Worthy of sitting on a shelf next to Wuthering Heights.”
—Melissa Marr, author of Wicked Lovely
Buy
THE HOUSE OF DEAD MAIDS in HARDCOVER.
Buy
THE HOUSE OF DEAD MAIDS in KINDLE edition.
CLICK
HERE FOR LARGER BOOK JACKET IMAGE.
Book excerpt may or may not appear on printed book jackets. Excerpt
copyright 2010 by Clare B. Dunkle. Illustration copyright 2009 by
Patrick Arrasmith. Jacket art, text, and illustrations courtesy
of Henry Holt & Co. Jacket design by April Ward.
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