The Dark

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In the deep of winter 1893, a briskly practical physician named Mrs. Mellon arrives at a New York tenement and takes up her duty to care for the aged, the indigent and the dying. Her patient in the garret, she decides, fits all three categories nicely -- that is, before she realizes she is in the presence of a most unusual lost soul: the charismatic Maggie Fox.Part mystery, part ghost story, part riveting historical fiction, The Dark ushers the reader into the shadowy border between longing and belief as it unfolds the incredible story of the famous and controversial Fox Sisters, Maggie, Katie, and Leah. In their heyday, the sisters purported to communicate with ghosts and inspired the Spiritualist Movement, a quasi-religion complete with mediums and séances and millions of followers.Now only Maggie is left alive, and Mrs Mellon is her lifeline to the world. Soon, with Mrs Mellon’s gentle prompting, the wry, black-witted, ever-ambivalent Maggie is revealing her family’s secrets. But is Mrs. Mellon her confessor, her saviour, her interrogator -- or the last person upon whom Maggie is working her finely honed art?Review"The Dark is that rare animal, scarcely seen: a story so compelling it feels destined for bestseller-dom, yet rendered in a style that brings to mind the ever-vivid, perspicacious (and hilarious) Flannery O’Connor. Style meet content; content meet style – Mulligan’s novel has it all." —The Globe and Mail"The Dark is a triumph. It delves into the past with skill and precision. It reflects on what and why people believe what they do. It feels palpably real and it is hugely entertaining." —Vancouver Sun"The Dark walks a tightrope between mystery and literary fiction. Mulligan’s writing is sharp and propulsive without sacrificing authenticity or tone, and the dense, detailed plot refuses to buckle as it moves steadily toward its altogether rewarding conclusion." —Quill and Quire“Mulligan has a historian’s eye and a storyteller’s touch—it is one thing to do research and quite another to breathe life into characters and add flesh to events of the day. . . .There is no doubting that Mulligan is a master at capturing the cadence—and the spirits—of the time.” —The Gazette (Montreal) About the AuthorCLAIRE MULLIGAN's first work of historical fiction, The Reckoning of Boston Jim, was nominated for the 2007 Giller Prize as well as the Ethel Wilson Award. Claire was born and raised in British Columbia and graduated from UBC in 1995. She currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and three young children.