The Other Side of Mrs Wood by Lucy Barker Fourth Estate, £14.99
IN ESSENCE, the plot of Lucy Barker’s debut novel is a pretty standard one. A businesswoman has been at the top of her profession for years. But then along comes a younger, more ruthless rival who, by satisfying the public’s insatiable desire for the next new thing, is soon poaching her customers. And so as one rises, the other falls.
The twist here, though, is that the businesswomen are 19th-century mediums battling it out in the surprisingly cut-throat world of spiritualism among London’s fashionable classes.
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Reader's Digest UK.
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This story is from the June 2023 edition of Reader's Digest UK.
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