The Angelic Avengers

Dec 29, 2025 3:41 PM

Author:Isak Dinesen

Lucan has been orphaned and Zosine has been deserted, and London is a hostile place for two young girls without a home. Bound together by poverty, grief and their shared years at school, they set out to make a future for themselves in new surroundings. They are adopted by the austere, puritanical Reverend Pennhallow and his wife, and in their large, gloomy house they become immersed in study. But, after a chain of disturbing events, it does not take long before they realize that the cleric and his wife are not all they seem to be ...

Reviews

Blue Heaven... frothy, brilliantly coloured and packing a wicked satiric punch.

—— Los Angeles Magazine

Blue Heaven is a hilarious read. Quote me with pleasure.

—— Sir Ian McKellen

I adored it, laughing out loud on occasions as I read it at one sitting.

—— The Bookseller

Joe Keenan has put the ‘high’ back into high jinks... refreshingly effervescent

—— New York Times

Joe Keenan's first novel plunges headlong into a world of deceit, avarice and violence and it's all a scream - Keenan maintains impressive control over a wonderfully ludicrous plot-packed full of lines that are well worth memorizing - and with a finale that is staggeringly, hilariously contrived.

—— Time Out

Joe Keenan has put the 'high' back into high jinks. His send-ups of criminal noveaux riches are biting and dead on - and his dialogue is refreshingly effervescent.

—— New York Times

One of the funniest writers alive.

—— David Leavitt

A poignant tale of life, love and loss

—— Mirror

Traditional, light-hearted romantic fiction at its best

—— Literary Review

Poignant and humorous

—— Now

A buoyant tale that will have you laughing and crying from start to finish

—— Woman's Journal

The twists and turns in the plot will leave you dizzy

—— New Woman

The story is original and the suspense is skilfully built. An infuriatingly enjoyable feel-good read

—— The List

An engaging and original plot

—— New Statesman

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