The Haunting of Alma Fielding : SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2020

FROM BRITAIN’S TOP-SELLING TRUE CRIME WRITER

''A wonderful book'' HILARY MANTEL

''Gothic, dark and scandalous'' SUNDAY TIMES

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION

It is 1938. As the shadow of fascism darkens over Europe, strange things are happening in Alma Fielding’s suburban home in Croydon. Crockery flies off the shelves; stolen rings appear on Alma’s fingers; and white mice scuttle out of her handbag.

Nandor Fodor – chief ghost hunter for the International Institute for Psychical Research – arrives on the scene, determined to crack the case. As Fodor’s obsession deepens, and Alma becomes ever more disturbed, the pair find themselves in a treacherous battle of wills . . .

''Prepare not to see much broad daylight, literal or metaphorical, for days if you read this’ THE TIMES

''Nobody is better at unpicking stories of ghosts and murder than Kate Summerscale … Will stay with you for weeks’ DOMINIC SANDBROOK, SUNDAY TIMES BOOKS OF THE YEAR

''As gripping as a novel. An engaging, unsettling, deeply satisfying read’ SARAH WATERS

‘A detective novel, a ghost yarn and a historical record rolled into one . . . Electrifying’ i-PAPER

‘It would be impossible to read this dry-eyed’ SPECTATOR

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE

‘A page-turner with the authority of history’ PHILIPPA GREGORY
‘As gripping as a novel. An engaging, unsettling, deeply satisfying read’ SARAH WATERS

London, 1938. Alma Fielding, an ordinary young woman, begins to experience supernatural events in her suburban home.

Nandor Fodor – a Jewish-Hungarian refugee and chief ghost hunter for the International Institute for Psychical research – begins to investigate. In doing so he discovers a different and darker type of haunting: trauma, alienation, loss – and the foreshadowing of a nation’s worst fears. As the spectre of Fascism lengthens over Europe, and as Fodor’s obsession with the case deepens, Alma becomes ever more disturbed.

With rigour, daring and insight, the award-winning pioneer of historical narrative non-fiction Kate Summerscale shadows Fodor’s enquiry, delving into long-hidden archives to find the human story behind a very modern haunting.

‘An empathetic, meticulous account of a spiritual unravelling; a tribute to the astonishing power of the human mind - but also a properly absorbing, baffling, satisfying detective story’ AIDA EDEMARIAM

A PICK OF THE AUTUMN IN THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, OBSERVER AND THE GUARDIAN