The Red Bird Sings by Aoife Fitzpatrick
Synopsis
**AN AWARD WINNER BEFORE IT WAS EVEN PUBLISHED. A FEMINIST GOTHIC SUSPENSE THAT WILL KEEP YOU UP ALL NIGHT**
West Virginia, 1897
After the sudden death of young Zona Shue only a few months after her impromptu wedding, her mother Mary Jane has a vision – she was killed. And by none other than her new husband, Trout, the handsome blacksmith beloved in their small Southern town.
Mary Jane, known for c...
As the trial raises to fever pitch and the men of Greenbrier County stand aligned against them, Mary Jane and Lucy must decide whether to play with fire and reveal Zona’s greatest secret. But it’s Zona herself, from beyond the grave, who still has one last revelation to make.
Based on a real trial and masterfully playing with the tropes of the Southern Gothic, Aoife Fitzpatrick delivers a searing feminist history like no other. It is a first novel of rare and dazzling brilliance to be read with your heart in your mouth and chills down your spine to the final, haunting page.
Reviews
'A sparkling, unusual novel that demands you turn the pages' THE TIMES, BEST HISTORICAL FICTION
'Based on a real-life murder trial in 1897 West Virginia, this dazzling debut arrives with a Southern Gothic slant and a feminist spirit' DAILY MAIL
'Compelling' ANNE ENRIGHT
About the Author
Aoife Fitzpatrick is a native of Dublin, Ireland. Her debut novel, The Red Bird Sings, won the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize in 2020. The winner of the inaugural Books Ireland short-story competition, her work has also been recognised by the Séan O'Faoláin Prize, the Elizabeth Jolley Prize and by the Writing.ie Short Story of the Year award. Aoife received an MFA in Creative Writing at University College Dublin in 2019 and in 2020, she was the recipient of a literature bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland.