In Vienna, 1899, a young woman is discovered: thin, head shaved, she claims to have no name, to be not even human. Soon, she is the latest case for celebrated psychoanalyst Josef Breuer. But the mystery of her origins only deepens . . .
Decades later, in 1940s Germany, we meet Krysta. Her Papa is busy working in the infirmary with the 'animal people'. Left alone, she loses herself in the stories of Hansel and Gretel, the Pied Piper and others. But when she is forced to understand the truth about her surroundings, she discovers reality can be as terrifying as any fairy tale.
Exploring unspeakable darkness, the horrors of the holocaust and the power of the imagination, the strands of these two mysteriously connected stories are drawn ever closer together until the breath-taking final revelation.
'Atmospheric and beautifully written . . . Gretel and the Dark will be one of the best books of 2014.' The List
'Ambitious and enticing.' Independent
'This is fairytale fiction for grown-ups, laced with fact - and it's terrifying.' The Times
'As dark and twisting as the Black Forest . . . forbidding, secretive, richly historical, this is a gripping novel that will leave you guessing until the end.' Historical Novel Review
