Pale Mistress 9780008803766 Hardback

Let heaven and men and devils, let them all, all, cry shame against me, yet Ill speakCyprus, 16th century. Murder, lies and vengeance has left lovers dead, promises broken and no one to trust. Only one woman survives, Bianca.The slain? History knows their names: Emilia, Desdemona, Othello.But why do we not know Bianca? Who was the pale mistress? Liar or lied to? Instigator or victim? In telling one womans story,Naomi Kelsey dazzlingly recasts a Shakespearean tragedy as a psychological thrillerof jealousy and gaslighting, ambition and envy, and the making and breaking of one of Shakespeares most notorious villains, Iago.PRAISE FORPALE MISTRESSA bold and beautiful triumph. In prose as rich as Cyprus wine and as sharp as a Venetian blade, Naomi Kelsey gives voice to the silenced and reshapes tragedy through a woman’s eyes. Lyrical, haunting, and breathtakingly tense, this is historical fiction at its most electrifying.SETH INSUA, author ofHuman, Animal’Once again, Naomi Kelsey bestows us with a thrilling and infuriating story of love, lies and betrayal. An utterly convincing addition to Shakespeare’sOthello.’ELLE MACHRAY, author ofHavisham’Naomi Kelsey continues to cement her position as one of the most accomplished and empathetic writers of historical fiction.’LAURA SHEPPERSON, author ofThe Heroines