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House of Hunger
House of Hunger
Dec 17, 2025 7:01 AM

Author:Alexis Henderson

House of Hunger

NOMINATED FOR BEST HORROR NOVEL in the GOODREADS READERS CHOICE AWARDS...

'A lurid, luscious debauch of a book.' Guardian

'An unforgettable feast of decadence and depravity, House of Hunger cements Henderson's place as one of the great gothic writers of our generation.' S T GIBSON, author of A Dowry of Blood

A young woman is drawn into the upper echelons of a society where blood is power in this dark and enthralling Gothic novel from the author of The Year of the Witching.

WANTED: A bloodmaid of exceptional taste. Must have a keen proclivity for life's finer pleasures. Girls of weak will need not apply.

Marion Shaw has been raised in the slums, where want and deprivation are all she knows. Despite longing to leave the city and its miseries, she has no real hope of escape until the day she spots a strange advertisement in the newspaper, seeking a 'bloodmaid'.

Though she knows little about the far north - where wealthy nobles live in luxury and drink the blood of those in their service - Marion applies to the position. In a matter of days, she finds herself at the notorious House of Hunger. There, Marion is swept into a world of dark debauchery - and there, at the centre of it all is her.

Her name is Countess Lisavet. Loved and feared in equal measure, she presides over this hedonistic court. And she takes a special interest in Marion. Lisavet is magnetic, charismatic, seductive - and Marion is eager to please her new mistress. But when her fellow bloodmaids begin to go missing in the night, Marion is thrust into a vicious game of cat and mouse. She'll need to learn the rules of her new home - and fast - or its halls will soon become her grave.

Reviews

An unforgettable feast of decadence and depravity, House of Hunger cements Henderson's place as one of the great gothic writers of our generation. Readers will be absolutely spellbound by this sinister, scintillating tale.

—— S T GIBSON, author of A Dowry of Blood

The kind of book that deserves to be devoured. Deliciously brutal, hypnotic, and brimming with ravenous malice, Alexis Henderson has crafted a bloody, sapphic fever dream of a novel and I can't wait to read it again.

—— FRANCESCA MAY, author of Wild and Wicked Things

Has something of the grotesque novelty of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast, tinged red by a Clive Barker-esque blending of blood and sex . . . a lurid, luscious debauch of a book.

—— GUARDIAN

A gory gem of a story that sinks in its teeth and won't let up, House of Hunger proves that Alexis Henderson is one of the best Gothic writers out there.

—— HANNAH WHITTEN, author of For the Wolf

A dark, blood-filled fantasy that's dripping in gothic vibes . . . dread and desire simmer from the pages of this unsettling and lushly written horror. It'll have you simulatenously wanting to look away and keep reading.

—— METRO

Delicious . . . House of Hunger's Dickensian plot and gorgeous Victorian steampunk setting make it a pleasure to read . . . like a modern-day Anne Rice, Henderson has a gift for creating a world engorged with desire and death.

—— THE NEW YORK TIMES

A beguiling Gothic feast. Every lush, gorgeous page oozes atmosphere and delicious dread. Alexis Henderson is an exhilarating talent, creating rich new worlds that terrify and enchant. House of Hunger is an exceptional work of dark fantasy. Magnificent.

—— RACHEL HARRISON, author of Such Sharp Teeth and Cackle

Gritty, Sapphic, Gothic . . . rich with suspense and intrigue, the novel is equal measures addicitve and haunting.

—— CULTUREFLY

House of Hunger is gorgeous and lushly dark, a nightmare vision that will pull you into its terrifying grip. Alexis Henderson is a master at creating enthralling fear.

—— SIMONE ST JAMES, author of The Book of Cold Cases

A supremely Gothic page-turner.

—— THE i NEWSPAPER

With decadent prose as bewitching and as dangerously sharp as a rare gemstone that could slice you open at any moment, Alexis Henderson's House of Hunger is a Gothic masterpiece that demands to linger like the coppery scent of blood in the air long after the final page is turned.

—— ERIK LaROCCA, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke

Readers will devour every page of House of Hunger. Alexis Henderson delivers a chilling, atmospheric tale shrouded in mystery, indulgence, deceit, and dangerous consequences.

—— N.E.DAVENPORT, author of The Blood Trials

With sumptuous prose and decadent, Gothic atmosphere, Alexis Henderson spins a lush tale of depravity, sensuality, and horror that kept me on my toes until the bitter end.

—— ISABEL CANAS, author of The Hacienda

Bloody and atmospheric with a seething undercurrent of dread, House of Hunger will lull you into a false sense of security just before baring its teeth. Fans of gothic horror will not want to miss this novel.

—— GENEVIEVE GORNICHEC, author of The Witch's Heart

Breathlessly paced and dripping with gothic decadence, Henderson's second novel . . . cements her status as one of horror's best new voices . . . a fascinating new spin on vampires that combines gory but gorgeous imagery and searing social commentary.

—— PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Sexy and queer and monstrous and very bloody . . . House of Hunger is a killer sophomore novel from Alexis Henderson. She has more than earned her place on my list of auto-read authors. Fans of gothic horror, sexy blood drinkers, and sapphic fantasy should move this to the top of their TBR.

—— TOR.COM

Henderson knows exactly what makes the gothic novel work, combining lush and lurid prose with beautiful scenery . . . House of Hunger is a novel as rich and dark as any blood shed by its heroines.

—— HORROR DNA.COM

Darkly gripping.

—— THE INDEPENDENT

An immersive debut... This is a triumph

—— Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review

Jacqueline Crooks' lyrical debut dances to the rhythm of the reggae music that pulses throughout it, in a powerful portrait of black womanhood

—— UK Press Syndication

Incantatory

—— New Yorker

Exhilarating . . . An adroit novel of ethics

—— New Statesman

'Lyrical, piercing . . . The New Life is a fine-cut gem, its sentences buffed to a gleam . . . [Crewe's book] brims with élan and feeling, an ode to eros and a lost world, and a warning about the dangers ahead'

—— Hamilton Cain, Washington Post

'Crewe deserves applause for his vivid scene-setting . . . There's much to admire in this meticulously researched, boldly envisioned debut'

—— Prospect

'Nothing less than remarkable . . . A beautiful, brave book that reminds us of the terrible human cost of bigotry; this is a novel against forgetting'

—— Michael Schaub, Boston Globe

'Rich and engrossing . . . blending the graceful ambiguity of literary fiction with the deftness of a page-turner . . . A smart, sensual debut'

—— Kirkus (starred review)

A few established novelists continue to write first-class literary fiction on LGBTQ themes... The debut novel by Tom Crewe...reveals a new talent in the field. It is underpinned by extensive research... [with] a great story at its heart.

—— Literary Review

The New Life drives with a satisfying pace and a pleasing sense of both conclusion and open endings... how impressive it is that Crewe has synthesised a coherent and compelling fiction from his elements

—— Critic

Superb . . . Remarkably sensuous and intimate

—— Spectator

Crewe demonstrates rare promise in this beautifully crafted story about two real-life pioneers who tried to make a case for homosexuality in Victorian Britain... Crewe brings this era pungently to life

—— Sunday Times

[An] incredibly assured debut... A fresh take on the historical novel, with desire at its heart, written with a charged certainty that the personal is political

—— Guardian, *Summer Reads of 2023*

A rich, panoramic novel stuffed with vivid characters, heartaches and hazards... [a] brilliant debut

—— Sunday Times, *Summer Reads of 2023*

Crewe's beautiful novel is filled with nuance and forensic insight into love. Deftly recreating the atmosphere of 1890s London, The New Life is a tour de force of intelligent and empathetic fiction

—— UK Press Syndication

A debut of impressive skill... Crewe is a trained historian and it shows: the period detail is exquisite

—— Daily Telegraph, *Summer Reads of 2023*

The novel is full of exquisitely drawn detail, right from the opening scene, making the moral and social dilemmas at the centre of the story dynamic and compelling

—— GQ

[A] pitch-perfect debut novel

—— Spectator, *Books of the Year*

Sometimes there comes along a debut novel that feels like an immediate classic. Tom Crewe’s The New Life is just such a book. It’s a beautifully crafted, seductive story about illicit desires in Victorian London

—— Sunday Times, *Sunday Times Book of the Year*
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