In the vein of riveting historical novels such as Hamnet and Circeâwith a touch of Draculaâa propulsive, feminist reimagining of the story of ErzsĂŠbet BĂĄthory, the infamous sixteenth-century Hungarian aristocrat known as the âBlood Countessâ, who was rumored to have murdered hundreds of peasant girls and bathed in their blood.
In 1573, Countess ErzsĂŠbet BĂĄthory gives birth to an illegitimate child. Secretly taken to a peasant family living in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, the infant girl is raised as their own. Years later, a young woman called BorĂłkaâignorant of her true historyâis sent to join the Countessâs household.
Terrified of the Countessâs murderous reputation and the brutally cruel women who run the castle, BorĂłka struggles to find her place. Then plague breaches the castleâs walls, and a tentative bond unexpectedly forms between the girl and the Countess. But powerful forces are moving against the great lady whose wealth and independence threatens the king. Can the Countess trust the women seemingly so close to her? And when the show trial begins against the infamous âBlood Countessâ where will BorĂłkaâs loyalties lie?