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The Corset Paperback – April 18, 2019

by Purcell Laura (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,397 ratings
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The new Victorian chiller from the author of Radio 2 and Zoe Ball ITV Book Club pick, The Silent Companions.

Is prisoner Ruth Butterham mad or a murderer? Victim or villain?

Dorothea and Ruth.

Prison visitor and prisoner. Powerful and powerless.

Dorothea Truelove is young, wealthy and beautiful. Ruth Butterham is young, poor and awaiting trial for murder.

When Dorothea's charitable work leads her to Oakgate Prison, she is delighted with the chance to explore her fascination with phrenology and test her hypothesis that the shape of a person's skull can cast a light on their darkest crimes. But when she meets teenage seamstress Ruth, she is faced with another theory: that it is possible to kill with a needle and thread. For Ruth attributes her crimes to a supernatural power inherent in her stitches.

The story Ruth has to tell of her deadly creations - of bitterness and betrayal, of death and dresses - will shake Dorothea's belief in rationality, and the power of redemption.

Can Ruth be trusted? Is she mad, or a murderer?

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    416 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    BLOOMSBURY
  4. Publication date
    April 18, 2019
  5. Dimensions
    7.72 x 1.06 x 5.08 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1408889528
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1408889527
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ BLOOMSBURY (April 18, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1408889528
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1408889527
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.72 x 1.06 x 5.08 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,397 ratings

About the author

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Laura Purcell

Laura Purcell

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
2,397 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jeannie Mancini
5.0 out of 5 stars A Not To Be Missed Gothic Tale
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2020
Verified Purchase
AN EXCELLENT HISTORICAL NOVEL NOT TO MISS! The atmosphere is Victorian London. A wealthy high-society woman chooses to occupy her time doing charity work at the local gaol. She assists with hearing confessions and aiding female criminals with the chance to tell their stories, and attempts to ease their anxiety as they serve out their time behind bars or painfully await the noose. But, this is not a mystery folks. From the onset we know just who the murderess is. This amazingly creative story is an unfolding of one young girl's life of hell and her strife to survive horrific life circumstances that cause her to do what is necessary to survive. This diabolical tale is extremely well penned, often chilling, and sometimes even squeamish. Yet you will experience a rollercoaster ride of emotions as this girl's story unravels like a ball of yarn that slowly strings you along on the edge of your seat! Shocking, heartbreaking, not predictable in any way, and serves up many surprises and a peculiar ending I couldnt help but love! ❤ I didn't want it to end. I immediately ordered the author's other books as soon as I closed the last page, and shall award this gem 5 glorious stars! *****
6 people found this helpful
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girl from CO
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating but brutal; bizarre ending
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2024
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Very well written, and wonderful character development and detail. Really makes you feel the time and place, and attitudes toward women and particularly the poor and destitute. Brutal to read in many parts, but fascinating nonetheless. I guess I am dense, but I didn’t get the ending - or missed something? I’d love others insights as to what was going on with Dorothea, Poisonous Papa and the handkerchief at the end.
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Josh
5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite book of 2022
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2023
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This story is incredible. The writing is smooth, atmospheric, detailed, and well researched. The story has twists that I didn't see coming and an amazing ending. Highly recommend!!
One person found this helpful
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T. Roark
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2019
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Love the way Purcell writes! Very good book!
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Sunshine
4.0 out of 5 stars The Corset
Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2019
This book alternates between Dorothea, a young woman from a privileged upbringing, who lost her mother at a young age and Ruth, an extremely poor young girl who has only really known pain, loss, suffering, and hard work.

In Ruth's chapters we learn what her life was like before she landed up in prison. There are plenty of characters to go along with her story which makes it interesting. These characters both good and evil made the story for me. Her story was not pleasant and was very emotional.

Dorothea's chapters show her to be an intelligent young woman who wants more out of life than doing what women of her time did, marriage, babies and run the house. She has her own problems in life but at least she has wealth and privilege.

There is so much more to this book but so as not to give anything away i am not going to write anything further.

The ending had me smiling..........but i did have to re-read part of it to make sure i had read it correctly!

Not a book i loved but did enjoy reading it and this is a book i would recommend.
One person found this helpful
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Angti
3.0 out of 5 stars What's the rush?
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2018
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My honest opinion as a reader. This book had a very interesting story. The idea, the plot twists were all very original. However, reading this book was like watching a 1000-page novel made into 2-hour movie. So many missing details. Example: Phrenology, what was it? It was just sort of being slapped onto the book without an interesting enough description. The reason why Dorothea was so passionate in the study of phrenology was just been mentioned briefly. Despite of her deep interest in it...the explanation was shallow.
This book was supposed to be scary. But due to lack of details...the grisly horror failed to raise any hair of mine. I had read Ms. Purcell's other book, Silent Companion, it had similar feeling to this book. Both felt rushed to me, like they could not wait to just end the story.
7 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story. Gripping
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2019
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Excellent story
Great page turner... couldn't stop reading it
One person found this helpful
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Debra Cohen @openbookpost
5.0 out of 5 stars riveting and compelling Victoria tale of two women
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2019
4.5 stars

This book had my attention from the get-go! I loved the synopsis: Is prisoner Ruth Butterham mad or a murderer? Victim or villain? I knew this book would be pretty much up my alley and it was! But what does that say about my alley? It's dark and twisted folks!

Doretha "Dotty" Truelove (let's, for a minute, admire her last name!), is a young woman from a "good home" Her mother died when she was young, and she has been raised by her father. "Dotty" is a smart and inquisitive young woman who wants more out of life than just being a married woman. She is interested in phrenology and believes it can shed a light on one's crimes. She does charitable work at Oakgate prison and there she meets a sixteen-year-old accused of murder named Ruth. Ruth believes that she has a supernatural power and can/has killed people using her skills as a seamstress. Is she a skilled killer or is she a skilled seamstress? Is she both?

From the description the reader knows that one woman is from a life of privilege and luxury while the other is poor - extremely poor. Dotty has known a relatively easy life. Ruth has known pain, loss, suffering, and hard work. Their socio-economic difference is HUGE as are their outlook on life, and each's understanding of the world.

I devoured this book. I thought it did a good job of showing just how hard life was during that time. How huge the differences in the classes were, how people took advantage and how people were treated. How about the debtor’s prison? You go there because you can't pay your debts and yet you can't make money there so how will you ever pay your debt? You don't. You die. End of story. Life is harsh, no? Extremely.

How scary to live during that time! Geez just learning what was in some of the fabrics/fabric colors made at that time gives new meaning to the saying: Beauty hurts. Why not wear a Victorian bone corset while you are at it and have someone tighten you in?

Really enjoyed the story and the twists and revelations. Who saw that coming!?! Seriously, who? Anyone? Anyone? Well written and captivating. Were there some plot holes? Perhaps, but who cares? I didn't. Again, this was right up my alley. I loved the time frame, loved how it showed the division of class, and how criminal justice was handled back then. We have come a long way baby is all I can say! I was fully invested in the story and how things would turn out. Was she a killer? Was she mad? Was she a supernatural killer? Was she a victim?

I loved The Silent Companions and loved this book as well. It's Gothic and evokes feelings of dread. In some ways this book reminded me of another book I loved The Unseeing about a woman in prison accused of murder telling her story. The plots are different, but both felt the same.

I have been reading some doozies lately and reading this was like a breath of fresh air! It was nice to curl up and read a book which I found riveting and compelling.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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La Divina
5.0 out of 5 stars This is the same book as "The Poison Thread"
Reviewed in Canada on February 11, 2024
Verified Purchase
Ugh, this is the British edition of the masterful novel "The Poison Thread." It's an incredible, can't put down book but don't make the same mistake as I did and order the same book under a different title.
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Mumpy phukan
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read.
Reviewed in India on August 1, 2021
Verified Purchase
Absolutely loved this book. I also read Laura purcell’s Silent companion. Beautiful writing. Poetic imaginative lines. Thrilling. These two books are her best.
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Kardewski
5.0 out of 5 stars Schnürt den Leser ein und läßt ihn nicht mehr los
Reviewed in Germany on January 16, 2021
Verified Purchase
Nachdem ihr Gruseldebut "The Silent Companions" noch nicht in allen Belangen überzeugen konnte, hat Frau Purcell es mit ihrem zweiten Werk auf dem Gebiet zur Meisterschaft gebracht. Seit langer Zeit habe ich kein Buch mehr gelesen, das mich derartig gepackt und mitgenommen hat. Man leidet mit der unvergeßlichen Protagonistin, der jungen Näherin Ruth, die Unmenschliches erdulden muß, man spürt die Energie ihres Hasses, der mehr und immer mehr zur Triebkraft ihres Lebens wird. Thematisch (was die rücksichtslose Ausbeutung von Kindern betrifft) erinnert der Roman zum Teil an Dickens, doch die besondere Faszination entsteht auch hier durch das - wie selbstverständlich in die Geschichte dringende - Übernatürliche: Wobei es für das große Können der Autorin spricht, daß man sich bis zum Ende hin nicht völlig sicher sein kann, ob tatsächlich eine dunkle Macht im Spiel ist, oder diese nicht lediglich im Glauben der beiden Hauptfiguren existiert. Zahlreiche überraschende Wendungen, eine subtile Komik und der elegant historisierende, aber direkte und nie ausschweifende Stil sorgen für ein rundes Lesevergnügen. Laura Purcell behalte ich im Auge!
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Mle Sheila Bennett
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written
Reviewed in France on March 5, 2020
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A good historical read.
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yearsofreadingselfishly
5.0 out of 5 stars Be Prepared to be Shocked, Amazed and Speechless...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2018
Verified Purchase
The Corset is set in the Victorian Era, and tells the story of Ruth Butterham and Dorothea Truelove. From the very start, the novel pulls the reader right into the murky, oppressive and unrelenting atmosphere of the city.

The Victorian life is very much a world of two halves – one of social mobility, wealth and having a future, the other is of people being treated no better than animals, where children are traded as commodities and are destined for a life of poverty and hopelessness.

Dorothea is a young lady, who is settled in a social class where money talks and she has plenty of it. As a young woman of means, she is not interested by the fashion and gossip of the time, instead she is fascinated by the science of phrenology, which claims that by studying the different lumps and bumps on a person’s skull, that you can determine the different facets of their personality. Dorothea wants to understand how much of an impact this can have on a person’s propensity to kill, and her ability to give monetary donations to Oakgate prison, gives her the exclusive access to inmates to conduct her research. Her mother has passed away and Dorothea’s father is attempting to bring her up to be the young woman he wishes her to be, and is dismayed by her interests and lack of willingness to marry.

She is a fiercely independent and dynamic character, who understands what is expected of her – to marry well, produce children and be the dutiful wife and mother. What is refreshing about Dorothea is that she does not want to marry for money – she wants to marry on her own terms – if at all. She does not want her life determined by what is expected – she wants her life to be what she wants, something she has to suppress and keep hidden from everyone else for fear of angering her distant and somewhat intimidating father.

Ruth Butterham is a sixteen year old seamstress, who has been accused of murder and is awaiting her fate in Oakgate Prison. Dorothea is immediately drawn to her and makes her almost a pet project. Ruth has had a far from easy childhood to this point, her mother has had to ‘sell’ her to an inhuman Seamstress called Mrs Metyard after Ruth’s father has died and she has no source of income, and Ruth has lost her younger sister too in a most tragic way.

Ruth is convinced that her instinctive skill as a seamstress means that she is able to imbue her needles with her emotions, that she has the power of life and death over her sewing clients. This inexplicable power has resulted in her being accused of the murder of Kate Metyard, Mrs Metyard’s daughter. As Dorothea spends more time in Ruth’s company, we learn about her life, the horrors she has seen, and the shocking realisation that Ruth is a complex young woman who may not be as wealthy or privileged as Dorothea, but is just as determined and unique.

In telling Ruth’s story, Laura not only builds up a complete picture of her, and allows us to witness the other side of the case, but also provides a brutal and shocking depiction of life in Victorian Britain. I learned more about the grim realities of life for those without money in reading this novel than I ever have before. Laura’s gritty and evocative telling of Ruth’s life are in stark contrast to the beautiful and grandiose descriptions of the fabric she works with but will never own, and the unfulfilling world that Dorothea inhabits.

As a reader, you find yourself pulled and pushed along with Ruth – she witnesses and is forced to participate in things which are jaw droppingly awful (and not for the faint hearted), but she also shows a gritty determination and resilience to ensure that she does what she has to do to survive, to get revenge on those who have wronged her or hurt the ones she loves. I felt all the way through the novel that along with the dense and eerie atmosphere, there was also a magical and mystical air, where things that seem impossible and out of the ordinary are able to thrive in this imposing and claustrophobic world.

The Corset moves enticingly towards its conclusion, with Dorothea wondering whether Ruth is really telling the truth or if she has been manipulated into believing her story. This is the skill that Laura has in the way she draws the reader in – we are as much in the dark as Dorothea, every revelation and every layer that is unfurled pushes and pulls us one way or the other. Surely the idea that you can hurt someone purely by the garment they are wearing is ridiculous..

It would be too simplistic to say that The Corset is purely a story of deciding whether Ruth Butterham is guilty or innocent. It is a novel which addresses so many issues that are just as relevant now as they were then. We learn about the place of women in society, poverty, social expectations and what love really means. The Corset is shocking, brutal, filled with an underlying tension that pulses through the pages and keeps you reading long into the night. It is a novel that deserves to be read and re-read and I ordered a copy the minute I knew it was coming out.

Laura Purcell is an astounding writer, and I cannot wait to see where she takes us next.

I loved it – it is for me, one of my books of the year and I can’t wait to read it all over again!
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