King Nyx

Kirsten Bakis

A haunting mystery about the fate of women and girls in the orbit of self-important men.

Set in November 1918 on the opulent, castle-like island estate of an eccentric millionaire, Claude Arkel, this atmospheric novel reimagines the life of Anna Filing Fort - whose husband, Charles Hoy Fort, was the most famous “anomalist” of the early twentieth century.

Settling in as guests on Prosper Island, the young couple find themselves quarantined in a shabby outpost far from Mr. Arkel’s mansion - from which, they learn, three girls have gone missing. After she encounters a figure in the woods that may be the ghost of her long-lost friend Mary, Anna resolves to find out who Mr. Arkel really is, and what has become of the missing girls.

A contemporary feminist tale with the mood and mystery of a classic gothic novel, King Nyx reintroduces readers, twenty-five years after her acclaimed debut, to one of our most astonishingly imaginative storytellers.