CATHRYN KEMP
A POISONER'S TALE
Rome, 1656
In the backstreets of the Eternal City lies an apothecary – a one-stop shop for every woman’s needs. Salves for wounds and heartbreak. Herbs for childbirth. Tarot readings to tell their fortunes. And an undetectable poison that can kill in four drops.
Alongside her circle of female poisoners, healer and herbalist Giulia Tofana uses the tincture to free the downtrodden women of Rome from their abusive husbands.
But even in a time of a plague, it does not go unnoticed when the noblemen of Rome begin to fall like flies. With a newly-elected Pope determined to rid the city of heretics and witches, and the Holy Inquisition on her trail, Giulia is in more danger than ever. . .
How far will she go for the women who need her help?
A Poisoner’s Tale is a spellbinding reimagining of real historical events.
THEY CAN'T BURN US ALL
Iceland, 1655
When a land of ice and fire, legends and sagas is swept into the Protestant Reformation, a witch-hunting craze begins. Unusually, those condemned and burned as witches are not women, but respectable men of learning.
Þuríður Jónsdóttir has grown up praying to the old gods, and watching her father and brother practise rune magic. When the two men are accused of witchcraft and condemned to burn at the stake, Þuríður is helpless to save them.
But as Lutheran Pastor Jón Magnússon's accusing gaze turns to Þuríður, he will find that she is a woman prepared to fight back.
In an age of fear and persecution, whose side will the village take? Who will fight for justice?
Set against a backdrop of sweeping religious and social change, this is a story of the most famous witch trial in Iceland – where one woman stands up to the patriarchal forces against her.
COMING CLEAN
What if the drugs that were meant to cure you started to kill you?
After falling dangerously ill with acute-on-chronic pancreatitis, Cathryn Kemp left hospital with a repeat prescription for fentanyl, a painkiller 100 times stronger than heroin.
Within two years she was taking almost ten times the NHS maximum daily dose – all on prescription – and her life began to spiral out of control. Cathryn discovered she had just three months to live, unless she gave up the drug she clung to so desperately.
After selling everything she owned and checking into rehab, Cathryn was told by the doctors that recovery was highly unlikely. Yet to everyone’s amazement, she proved them wrong.
Coming Clean is a poignant, vivid and honest memoir of a woman’s struggle with, and subsequent victory over, her demons. It is a love story, a horror story, a survival story, and one that shows the very real dangers of the over-prescription of painkillers.