Sussex, 1912. In a churchyard, villagers gather on the night when the ghosts of those who will die in the coming year are thought to be seen. Here, where the estuary leads out to the sea, superstitions still hold sway. Standing alone is the taxidermist's daughter. At 17, Constantia Gifford lives with her father in a decaying house: it is all that is left of Gifford's once world-famous museum of taxidermy. The stuffed animals that used to grace every parlour are out of fashion, leaving Gifford a disgraced and bitter man. The bell begins to toll and all eyes are fixed on the church. No one sees the gloved hand pick up a flint. As the last notes fade into the dark, a woman lies dead. While the village braces itself against rising waters and the highest tide of the season, Connie struggles to discover who is responsible, but finds herself under suspicion. Is Constantia who she seems - is she the victim of circumstances or are more sinister forces at work? And what is the secret that lies at the heart of Gifford House, hidden among the bell jars of her father's workshop? Told over one summer, THE TAXIDERMIST'S DAUGHTER is the haunting new novel from the bestselling author of LABYRINTH, SEPULCHRE, CIDADEL and THE WINTER GHOSTS.
Kate Mosse was our Guest Editor in November 2012 - click here - to see the books that inspired her writing.
Kate Mosse is a number one international bestselling novelist, playwright and non-fiction writer. The author of several novels and short-story collections – including the multimillion-selling Languedoc Trilogy (Labyrinth, Sepulchre and Citadel) and Gothic fiction The Winter Ghosts and The Taxidermist’s Daughter, which she is adapting for the stage – her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and published in more than forty countries. She has also written four works of non-fiction – including An Extra Pair of Hands (Wellcome Collection, 2021) - four plays, contributed essays and introductions to classic novels and collections. A champion of women's creativity, Kate is the Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and a regular interviewer for theatre and fiction events. She is the Founder of the global campaign - #WomanInHistory – launched in January 2021 to honour, celebrate and promote women’s achievements throughout history and from every corner of the world. Kate divides her time between Chichester in West Sussex and Carcassonne in south-west France. The first two novels in The Burning Chambers series, The Burning Chambers and The City of Tears, are out now.
