The Other Side of Mrs. Wood — Lucy Helen Barker

For fans of The Lost Apothecary or the Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, a deliciously atmospheric historical novel about the rivalry between two female mediums during Victorian London's obsession with Spiritualism.

Mrs. Violet Wood is London's premier medium. Her ambition and work ethic are relentless, and her unique abilities have earned her quite the reputation among London's elite. Mrs. Wood knows just how to read her wealthy patrons and deliver them exactly the messages they long to hear from their loved ones visiting from beyond the grave.

However, one London newspaperman is on a quest to expose the false mediums among them, just as the pressure increases to outperform the upstart Americans -- who, to Mrs. Wood's horror, are promising their audiences more and more fantastical visions. When Mrs. Wood learns her own finances are in crisis, she realizes she must raise her own profile to secure her career and her place in society, or risk being quickly replaced by the next big thing.

Her solution? Accepting as an apprentice the sweet young girl who appears at her door, who carries an uncanny talent for the craft. But is Miss Bird everything she appears to be? And will she be Mrs. Wood's salvation, or her downfall?