The Disenchantment

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Is that a secret, Madame? You gave your mother the credit when you began.’ The painter had stored his paints away neatly in his box. The easel he moved near to the wall, where it would stand, to avoid smudging the paint as it dried. The canvas showed a series of blurry forms coming into being – the green shadows of Madame de Cardonnoy’s dress, ribbons and lace just a vague suggestion of shadow. Her face he had worked more completely, and she saw herself younger, pink and pale, as if she was looking into a smudged mirror. He’d painted her with her lips a little parted, as if in the moment before she was about to speak. This radiant and thrilling debut follows a passionate love affair between two noblewomen who wish to free themselves from their repressive society, whatever the cost. I loved this novel. It’s difficult to talk about this book without giving too much away, but the twists and turns of this plot are completely gripping. Bell’s writing is immersive, and captures the atmosphere and drama of this plot so thoroughly that I was hardly able to put it down. Lesbian historical fiction is undeniably my favourite literary genre and this book did not disappoint. The Disenchantmentis well-researched, comprehensive, and draws on little-known moments of French history, expertly weaving fiction and fact together to create a wholly original novel. This book is perfect for fans of Maggie O’Farrell’s The Marriage Portrait(2022) or Emma Donoghue’s The Sealed Letter(2008). I so wanted to love this story. I really liked the way the perspective switched and changed in a way that felt like you were watching a movie (and it wasn't confusing at all). I also appreciated the storytelling that took place throughout the novel, as it shows you exactly how the Baroness and Victoire could have gotten into the situation they found themselves in. Of course a woman that spent so much time in a make-believe land would find herself facing very real perils of her actual life. And of course she could easily pretend that it wasn't as bad as it actually was. The Disenchantment is historical fiction at its best, authentic, captivating and bewitching. It's difficult to believe this is a debut, so strong is the storytelling, characterisation and ambience. Filled with rich and beautiful detail that brings 17th Century Paris alive. The sights, the smells, the oppression and suspicions all feel very real in this evocative, atmospheric tale of intrigue and sapphic love.

Alluring, captivating and truly breathtaking at moments, Celia Bell has a remarkable talent for turning attention to detail into a vivid and bewitching narrative. Ghosts and shadows infuse Bell’s enigmatic tale with elements of the supernatural, while Marie Catherine’s allegorical fairy tales tell of feminist self-determination. . . . This is a tightly plotted, atmospheric and moody read, full of dark malevolence and a tangled web of complex relationships. . . . A riveting debut.”No,’ said Madame de Cardonnoy. ‘She wasn’t afraid. For her heart, too, was made of stone, so that both fear and pity were beyond her.’

When her husband is present, the Baroness spends her days tending to her children and telling them elaborate fairy tales, but when he’s gone, Marie Catherine indulges in a more liberated existence, one of forward-thinking discussions with female scholars in the salons of grand houses, and at the center of her freedom: Victoire Rose de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Conti, the androgynous, self-assured countess who steals Marie Catherine’s heart and becomes her lover. Lavoie raised an eyebrow at her. It was the first slip in his painstakingly correct manners, and Madame de Cardonnoy had to suppress a laugh. He was still a young man, perhaps not quite thirty, and it was clear that he found the portrait a little boring. She thought it had only just occurred to him that she might have chosen the subject of the tale to flatter him, as well as to entertain the children.A shimmering, sexy, thrilling tale of intrigue and desire, and the dark paths we walk to keep our secrets safe. Bell has written a shining debut.” I highly recommend The Disenchantment for fans of queer historical fiction and/or literary fiction. This is undeniably one of my top queer reads of the year. Don’t forget to look at Monsieur Lavoie, Sophie,’ the baronne said. ‘The story I’m going to tell you is one that you haven’t heard before, but my mother told it to me.’ Join Book Club: Delivered to your inbox every Friday, a selection of publishing news, literary observations, poetry recommendations and more from Book World writer Ron Charles. Sign up for the newsletter.

Serpent’s Tail has scooped a historical fiction debut and three works of translated fiction amid a raft of acquisitions for its main and classics lists, publishing in 2023 and 2024. The Disenchantment is a superb work of historical fiction that is both authentic and engaging. Despite being a debut novel, the author has masterfully crafted a compelling story, vivid characters, and a convincing atmosphere that truly brings 17th-century Paris to life. The book is filled with intricate and fascinating details that capture the essence of the time and place, from the sights and smells to the pervasive oppression and distrust. This atmospheric and thrilling tale of intrigue and same-sex romance is a delight to read, and I'm excited to see what the author has in store for future works. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. Did you encounter anything unexpected or surprising while working on this book, whether in your research or in your writing of the story? In summer 2024, Serpent’s Tail will publish Tongueless by Lau Yee-Wa, translated by Jennifer Feeley, for which Cohen obtained world English-language rights from Li Kangqin at the New River Agency. Described as a "haunting exploration of betrayal and manipulation", the novel follows two rival teachers at a secondary school in Hong Kong, who are instructed to switch from teaching in Cantonese to Mandarin—or lose their jobs. Wai crumples under the pressure and dies by suicide, leaving her colleague Ling to face seismic political and cultural change alone and uncertain of her role in the other’s demise.

I also find it disenchanting that the end of the story is a loose end. This must be because the author is going to write a sequel to the story-- otherwise, it's a very poor attempt at tying loose ends. What of Victoire after her talk with King's favored Mistress? What about Lavoie and Reynie after the chase? And Marie Catherine and her children? How did that play out on the night of her departure? And of course you cannot forget Jeanne and Henri. Was Henri ever punished? Did Jeanne make it to a better place with her treasure? I'm hoping the ending is not just a sloppy tie together. There are so many things to love about Celia Bell’s debut novel, The Disenchantment—drama in the royal court! murder! intrigue! historic gays! I could keep shouting, that’s how much I adored this enthralling story of love and scandal in seventeenth century Paris. I can’t wait to see what Celia does next!” Marie Catherine and Victoire were characters I loved and believed in, and Bell captures their unique and sometimes warring motivations. However, Bell doesn’t only pay attention to upper-class perspectives in this novel, and the text is a much wider examination of Parisian society in this period. This novel felt like a mix of genres in the best way—part literary fiction, historical fiction, crime fiction, mystery, and Gothic. It kept me guessing until the very end and felt like a thoroughly original, gorgeous historical portrait. Scandal is rampant in seventeenth century Paris – poisonings have become more common among the upper class and many women have been imprisoned even for the slight suspicion of attempting to poison their husbands. Baroness Marie Catherine is unhappily married with two young children but finds joy in weaving fairytales for them and her secret liaisons with Victoire Rose de Bourbon, another noblewoman. But when a violent act overturns Marie’s life, she’s forced to use all of her wits to avoid suspicion and maintain her freedom. They’re just children’s stories,’ Madame de Cardonnoy said. ‘Mother Goose tales. There’s nothing to take credit for.’

Celia Bell’s debut novel, The Disenchantment(Pantheon 2023), is a stunning example of queer historical fiction at its finest. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this ARC (my first ever!) in exchange for an honest review! A shiver passed through the children. Nicolas, hungry as he was for stories about ogres and dragons, was easily frightened. All acquisitions were made by editor Leonora Craig Cohen, whose own debut short story collection, Parallel Hells (Sceptre), written as Leon Craig, has just been published.

The publication marks the first English translation publication of the Turkish work of autofiction, an account of one liberal woman writer’s fight to survive depression and carve out her own path in Istanbul in the 1950s and 60s. Özlü herself was born in 1943 in Turkey and lived in Paris, Ankara, Istanbul, Berlin and Zurich, where she died in 1986. For himself, Lavoie was attempting not to show how the wealth of the room discomforted him. It always happened like that at the beginning of a new sitting–he’d spend an hour worrying over whether his subjects would notice the worn collar on his silk coat, before his work had the opportunity to speak for itself. It was difficult to feel self-assured in a room with so much gilding on the furniture, even though Lavoie had painted the baron himself six months ago. On the weaker side, I don’t think all of the characters or their motives were fully developed to me. The romance between the two main women was what I was most excited for but turned into the least interesting perspective overall. It also felt like a lot of really cool elements of sapphic love, a murder investigation, witches, and different power dynamics, but it just didn’t seem to all come together. Despite life and death being literally on the line, the stakes never fully sunk in. The earlier impression that Lavoie had had of Madame de Cardonnoy as a speaking statue had been so distinct that for a moment he felt as if she had been looking into his thoughts. He left the boy’s face with his brush and tried to get an impression of her eyes, the way the sun fell over her forehead and pulled a veil of light over her hair.