Plain Bad Heroines

A Novel

By: Emily M. Danforth

Narrated by: Xe Sands

“Full of Victorian sapphic romance, metafictional horror, biting misandrist humor, Hollywood intrigue, and multiple timeliness—all replete with evocative illustrations that are icing on a deviously delicious cake.” –O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE

“Brimming from start to finish with sly humor and gothic mischief. Brilliant.” — SARAH WATERS

Named a Most Anticipated Book by Entertainment Weekly • O, The Oprah Magazine • Buzzfeed • Harper's Bazaar • Vulture • Parade • Popsugar • Bustle • GoodReads • Autostraddle • Literary Hub • and more!

The award-winning author of The Miseducation of Cameron Post makes her adult debut with this highly imaginative and original horror-comedy centered around a cursed New England boarding school for girls—a wickedly whimsical celebration of the art of storytelling, sapphic love, and the rebellious female spirit

Our story begins in 1902, at the Brookhants School for Girls. Flo and Clara, two impressionable students, are obsessed with each other and with a daring young writer named Mary MacLane, the author of a scandalous bestselling memoir. To show their devotion to Mary, the girls establish their own private club and call it the Plain Bad Heroine Society. They meet in secret in a nearby apple orchard, the setting of their wildest happiness and, ultimately, of their macabre deaths. This is where their bodies are later discovered with a copy of Mary’s book splayed beside them, the victims of a swarm of stinging, angry yellow jackets. Less than five years later, the Brookhants School for Girls closes its doors forever—but not before three more people mysteriously die on the property, each in a most troubling way.

Over a century later, the now abandoned and crumbling Brookhants is back in the news when wunderkind writer Merritt Emmons publishes a breakout book celebrating the queer, feminist history surrounding the “haunted and cursed” Gilded Age institution. Her bestselling book inspires a controversial horror film adaptation starring celebrity actor and lesbian it girl Harper Harper playing the ill-fated heroine Flo, oppo­site B-list actress and former child star Audrey Wells as Clara. But as Brookhants opens its gates once again, and our three modern her­oines arrive on set to begin filming, past and present become grimly entangled—or perhaps just grimly exploited—and soon it’s impossible to tell where the curse leaves off and Hollywood begins.

A story within a story within a story, Plain Bad Heroines is a devilishly haunting, modern masterwork of metafiction that manages to combine the ghostly sensibility of Sarah Waters with the dark imagination of Marisha Pessl and the sharp humor and incisive social commentary of Curtis Sittenfeld into one laugh-out-loud funny, spellbinding, and wonderfully luxuriant read.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

This book took a long time to get nowhere

I enjoyed the ride, but the end was kind of a let down. Not enough explained for the story build up. The narrator was good, but a little too tongue in cheek even for the story. None of the characters were particularly likable. I can’t think of a better way to say this - it is a VERY millennial book. You’ll see what I mean.

Enchanted

Brugmansia arborea, a bit of witchcraft, shifting timelines and beautiful, complicated female characters.
What’s not to like?
Loved it…

surprisingly good

the narrator took some getting used to, she seemed a bit monotone at times and the characters as a result sounded very similar and oftentimes made it difficult to differentiate. that's the only complaint, she's really good otherwise! the book was fantastic, and always kept me on my toes. will read again.

what Rebecca should have been

great story, engaging and at times unsettling! would love to find more books just like this.

Whoa

That was excellent. And Xe Sands' narration...superb. Love the weaving of storylines, the characters, and the pace. It's a slow burn, a story to drink in and savor, sip by sip.