Beneath the Poet's House
Thomas & Mercer, 2024
Agent: Jill Marr
For a grieving writer, the secrets of the past and present converge in a novel of gripping psychological suspense from the author of The Daughters of Block Island.
Unmoored by her husband’s death and suffering from writer’s block, novelist Saoirse White moves to Providence, and into the historic home of Sarah Helen Whitman, the nineteenth-century poet and spiritualist once courted by Edgar Allan Poe. Saoirse’s certain she’ll find inspiration in the quiet rooms, as well as in the tucked-away rose garden and forgotten cemetery at the back of the property.
Saoirse is immediately welcomed by an effusive trio of transcendentalists obsessed with Whitman, the house, and Whitman’s mystic beliefs. Saoirse, emerging from grief and loneliness, welcomes the idea of new friends taking her mind off the past?even as they hope to summon it. When she meets Emmit Powell, a charismatic and charming prize-winning author, Saoirse thinks she’s finally turned a corner.
Emboldened by new romance, Saoirse begins to write again and, through her writing, rediscover herself. But as old fears return, she finds that nothing about her new life is what it seems?and a secret she’s tried so hard to bury may not be the only thing that comes back to haunt her.
Accolades:
"Haunting and gorgeously told, Beneath the Poet's House brings new life to the tumultuous romance and compelling lives of Edgar Allan Poe and Sarah Helen Whitman, all within a modern psychological suspense with a riveting plot that will enthrall readers." --Vanessa Lillie, USA Today bestselling author of Blood Sisters
“With secrets as deep and dark as catacombs, and lyrical writing befitting of its literary inspirations, Beneath the Poet’s House is a truly eerie page-turner.”—Zoje Stage, USA Today bestselling author of Baby Teeth and Dear Hanna
“In Beneath the Poet’s House, haunting history meets a riveting modern mystery. It’s a spellbinding, beautifully told story about secrets, the supernatural, and ultimately, finding the strength to fight back against impossible odds.”—Jess Lourey, Edgar-nominated author of The Taken Ones
“With lush, haunting prose to rival any classic, Beneath the Poet’s House twists patriarchal gothic tropes and gives new breath to old stereotypes in a story that is at once a historical reckoning, a desperate love story, and an intriguing mystery. Like a crooked finger beckoning the reader down a castle’s winding staircase, Carmen’s writing is impossible to resist. Mark my words: she will soon find her place among the gothic greats.”—Katrina Monroe, author of Through the Midnight Door
“Christa Carmen has cleverly resurrected the infamous Providence romance between Edgar Allan Poe and Sarah Helen Whitman in this thrilling novel set in modern times. What unfolds is worthy of a plot concocted by Poe himself. You won’t be able to put this book down!”—Levi L. Leland, creator of edgarallanpoeri.com and A Walking Tour of Poe’s Providence
“Beneath the Poet’s House is creepy and addictive. Carmen uses a Gothic New England setting to explore art and magic and left me thinking that the things men do to women are far more terrifying than any conjuring.” —Jessa Maxwell, author of The Golden Spoon and I Need You to Read This
“Beneath the Poet’s House is a brilliant, gripping novel filled with secrets and danger. Christa Carmen captures the haunted magic of Providence and introduces one of the most fascinating and singular characters I've ever encountered. The novel shimmers with questions of what is real and what is imaginary, helped by the extraordinary setting of a writer's house with a tragically romantic rose garden, a cemetery, and ghosts in love. Shocking, tender, and wildly compelling, Beneath the Poet’s House will keep you racing through the pages all night long.” — Luanne Rice, Amazon Charts and New York Times bestselling author of Last Night
“With lush, haunting prose to rival any classic, Beneath the Poet’s House twists patriarchal gothic tropes and gives new breath to old stereotypes in a story that is at once a historical reckoning, a desperate love story, and an intriguing mystery. Like a crooked finger beckoning the reader down a castle’s winding staircase, Carmen’s writing is impossible to resist. Mark my words: she will soon find her place among the gothic greats.” — Katrina Monroe, author of Through the Midnight Door
“ Beneath the Poet’s House is creepy and addictive. Carmen uses a Gothic New England setting to explore art and magic and left me thinking that the things men do to women are far more terrifying than any conjuring.” —Jessa Maxwell, author of The Golden Spoon and I Need You to Read This