WE HAVE past the autumn equinox, the air is feeling a little cooler and trees are shedding with gusto so it’s time to get hunker down into the cosier joys of life; lighting one of our book candles, grabbing a blanket and a hot drink and choosing books that mirror the autumnal mood. It's time to head to the darker side of literature and these are my top choices to read now and into the season.
Starting with some must-read classic books:
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
IF you want a novel to take you on an epic adventure, one to savour and to last a while, then look no further than this classic book by Alexandre Dumas. It is a massive book but don’t let its size intimidate you as it is made up of short chapters, episodes, which make it very readable.
The book follows the life of Edmond Dantès, handsome and happy as a young sailor with prospects who is wrongfully arrested on his wedding day to the love of his life, Mercédès, and taken to a notorious island prison, the Chateau d’If where he spends 14 gruelling years. There he befriends a learned and kind fellow prisoner who teaches him everything he knows and tells him of his buried fortune which Dantes finds and uses to reinvent himself once he escapes and seeks his revenge on the three men who conspired to destroy his life.
You will never regret investing your time to read this book - it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read - but not one to carry around in your handbag though.
Our fragrance for The Count of Monte Cristo inspired candle combines rum and citrus, a nod to Edmond Dantès’ happy early life as a sailor and his connection to the Mediterranean sea, exotic black lily to symbolise his love affair with Arabia and with Haydèe, underpinned by the depth and warmth amber and sandalwood bring to a scent. You do not need to wait and hope, to surround yourself with the power and luxury of this beautiful scented candle.
Lady Audley’s Secret - Mary Elizabeth Braddon
THE clue is in the title, there is a dark secret that is slowly revealed to us as we follow Lucy Graham and her rise in fortune as she marries into wealth and status. Eventually, a man from her past returns to England from Australia and in a confrontation with Lucy, Lady Audley, she pushes him down a well at Audley Court and presumes that he has died. A further attempt at murder follows with an arson attempt at an Inn where her husband’s nephew is staying. He survives and confronts her where she reveals the secrets that we have wanted to know throughout the book.
It’s so juicy and brilliantly and, at the time of publication when Victorian Britain wasn’t ready for domestic unrest, was considered sensational. Indeed it is a superb plot and in my opinion, should be given more attention.
Jekyll and Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
THIS classic novella would be a great choice to read over Halloween; it’s moody, murderous and riveting.
The frenzied murder of a gentleman has horrified Victorian society and Gabriel Utterson has discovered that it has been committed by his respected and intelligent friend, Dr Henry Jekyll who has clearly been living a double life. Jekyll is able to mutate into Edward Hyde, a deformed alter ego, upon ingesting a potion which over time becomes involuntary and makes normal life impossible.
In this fabulous novella, Robert Louis Stevenson highlights the duality of society, individual repression and the science versus religion debate which were hot topics at the time of publication.
The fragrance for our Jekyll and Hyde book candle has been inspired by the shadow side of the Jekyll and Hyde story and combines the deep spices of frankincense and akigalawood with hints of woody resin from labdanum and cyclamen; vanilla adds a contrasting sweetness. This scented candle would make a unique gift for any book lover but particularly a reader that is fond of gothic literature.
Dracula - Bram Stoker
I'M such a wimp that I could only read this novel during the day time, I found it to be far too scary for my bedtime read, but it is so good.
A young solicitor Jonathan Harker tries to help Count Dracula navigate the purchase of an estate in England but realises during his stay at Castle Dracula that all is not well. He is being kept prisoner there and the Count is in fact a vampire! Shock, horror!! Dracula moves to England and preys on a friend of Harker’s fiancée, turning her into a vampire too. A Professor and specialist in vampires, Van Helsing, along with friends of Harker track the vampire back to Transylvania with a plan to kill him. It’s all blood sucking and darkness and an absolute classic horror. Just don’t sleep with the window open.
Death on the Nile - Agatha Christie
WELL, it’s Agatha Christie so expect an outstandingly crafted and enjoyable, edge-of-the-seat story. Death on the Nile is a classic and one of her most popular works with Poirot taking on the case of a mysterious death aboard a cruise boat. With Egypt as an exotic backdrop, an eclectic group, each with their own secrets, are all suspects in this ‘closed circle’ mystery. Themes of greed, love and deception are quintessentially Christie and I would recommend this book very strongly. It’s as good as Murder on the Orient Express, which is my favourite novel of hers, that I have read.
For lovers of murder mysteries and Agatha Christie in particular, our Murder on the Orient Express candle opens with the scent of anise and citrus leading to a sweet fig and cedarwood heart then settles into a lingering base of rich amber and vetiver. This bookish candle is heady, mysterious and nostalgic, just like the extraordinary detective and hero of the book, Hercule Poirot.
And a look at some modern fiction with a darker tone.
His Bloody Project - Graeme Macrae Burnet
THIS is a book! It’s set in 1869 and 17-year-old Roddy Macrae has been accused of the murder of three people, two children and their father, in his small village on the Applecross Peninsula in the Highlands. This fictional book examines all of the historical documents of the case including Roddy’s diary and statements and takes us through the court proceedings. It’s such an original idea, it’s fabulously written and a book that I would recommend over and over again.
The Mercies - Kiran Millwood Hargrove
A REALLY interesting book, this one. Just the way it has been written is unique, with a language that feels of the time the story is set and I found the flow of it engaging. To me, it felt like it was written with a sense of how stories were traditionally told and passed down through generations.
Set in the small town of Vardø in Norway in 1617, a violent and unexpected sea storm wipes out the town’s entire population of men who were out in their boats, leaving the women to fend for themselves and deal in their own ways with their collective grief.
Faced with the arrival of a new male commissioner, the changes he brings to laws on religion and his preoccupation with ‘witches’, the home lives of the women, their friendships and how they respond to the newcomers is inextricably linked to their survival. The book is all about the female at a time when any behaviour or thinking outside of the ‘norm’ was dangerous for them; it is about the suppression of ideas and self under the crushing weight of male-ness and the male desire to control women in a bid to mask their own insecurities and ignorance.
Jamaica Inn - Daphne du Maurier
I COULD not put an autumnal reading list together and exclude the queen of gothic suspense with the coolest name, Daphne du Maurier, and I think Jamaica Inn sits alongside Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel as one of her finest darker stories. Set in her beloved Cornwall, this story follows a 23-year-old orphan, Mary, who travels to Bodmin Moor to live with her aunt. Mary finds her living at a desolate tavern avoided by locals, with her awful husband who leads a violent gang of ship wreckers, looters and murderers. Mary tries to plot an escape and turns to her uncle’s brother and the local vicar for help, who it turns out isn’t what he seems to be. The storyline is superb with twists and turns and the characters and events are so vividly written. Du Maurier was the absolute best at writing about the coastline and bleak landscape of Cornwall and that sense of love for the county really comes through for me in her books.
Daphne du Maurier also writes beautifully about the land and sea scape of Cornwall in her famous novel, Rebecca which inspired our Return to Manderley candle. Notes of sea salt, citrus and bergamot evoke fresh air and the outdoors.
Slammerkin - Emma Donoghue
LOOSELY based on the murder of a 16-year-old girl that took place in the Welsh Borders in 1763, Slammerkin - meaning a loose dress, and therefore implying a loose woman - follows Mary Saunders who, aged 14, trades her virginity for a red ribbon and falls into sex work in London.
After the death of her friend and flatmate, Doll, she leaves the city for Monmouth where her mother’s family is from and, with a forged letter, manages to get a job as a seamstress with a kind former friend of her mothers, Jane Jones. The story takes a darker turn when Mary falls back into prostitution and makes horrific choice after horrific choice. It’s a shockingly sad book as Mary is a really bright girl, able to read and write and with a gift for fashion and understanding garments but she is driven by danger, excitement and money to do awful things. I couldn’t put this book down and will seek out other Emma Donoghue books without delay.
Happy reading!
