The Last Heir to Blackwood Library

By: Hester Fox

Narrated by: Ell Potter

"Weaves a spell of darkness that’s mysterious and magical, and binds it with a knot of deathless love." —New York Times bestselling author Susanna Kearsley on A Lullaby for Witches

In post–World War I England, a young woman inherits a mysterious library and must untangle its powerful secrets…

With the stroke of a pen, twenty-three-year-old Ivy Radcliffe becomes Lady Hayworth, owner of a sprawling estate on the Yorkshire moors. Ivy has never heard of Blackwood Abbey, or of the ancient bloodline from which she’s descended. With nothing to keep her in London since losing her brother in the Great War, she warily makes her way to her new home.

The abbey is foreboding, the servants reserved and suspicious. But there is a treasure waiting behind locked doors: a magnificent library. Despite cryptic warnings from the staff, Ivy feels irresistibly drawn to its dusty shelves, where familiar works mingle with strange, esoteric texts. And she senses something else in the library too, a presence that seems to have a will of its own.

Rumors swirl in the village about the abbey’s previous owners, about ghosts and curses, and an enigmatic manuscript at the center of it all. And as events grow more sinister, it will be up to Ivy to uncover the library’s mysteries in order to reclaim her own story—before it vanishes forever.

Lush, atmospheric and transporting, The Last Heir to Blackwood Library is a skillful reflection on memory and female agency, and a love letter to books from a writer at the height of her power.

Don't miss A MAGIC DEEP & DROWNING, Hester Fox's lush, enchanting reimagining of The Little Mermaid, where a young woman in 1650 Friesland must face a deadly choice between love, duty, and a mythic legacy...

Look for these other gothic mysteries from Hester Fox:

• The Book of Thorns
• The Witch of Willow Hall
• The Widow of Pale Harbor
• The Orphan of Cemetery Hill
• A Lullaby for Witches

Intriguing Title

The voice actress reads slower than most. The plot was rather anti climatic. I may listen again to see if I can follow the plot better next time around.

Sometimes the repetition was a little bit much

I enjoyed the story but found that we were repeating some of the information multiple times which slowed the pace and it sometimes got really a little like you don’t wanna miss something but also want to speed it up

Great book

I always love Hester Fox’s novels. They take you back in time and describe beautiful, haunting places. Can’t wait for the next story.

Not what I thought it would be

This was ok but didn't love the main character. Just wanted to hurry through it to get to the end.

Great story

I loved the story. I felt like I was engulfed by a living library. I’ve never read anything like it.