So creepy and scary! I don't really like being scared or feeling my heart thumping in my chest, so I could only read this is small chunks to avoid having some kind of seizure. Good if you like that kind of thing though!! Recommended for reading aloud round the fire of a winter evening... *shiver*

I really enjoyed this creepy book. Very atmospheric setting with some seriously spooky goings on. The whole companion thing gave me the shivers. Fab winter read.

Gothic tale with a twist. Absolutely beautifully written and chilling to the core. It’ll make you jump and it’ll keep you awake. It’s BRILLIANT!!

A real gothic horror novel - unputdownable. I don't normally read historical novels, but this one drew me in by the fact that the story starts with the protagonist in a mental asylum. As the story unfolds, we wonder whether she is indeed insane, or if there are supernatural forces at work or if someone is framing her in order to steal her inheritance. Flits between the time frame of the protagonist and that of several generations before, when women were acused of being witches if they used herbs to heal illnesses. There are one or two instances of vocabulary or syntactic errors that do not match the era of the story, but I didn't find that these impaired my enjoyment of the book too much. A cracking good read that I would recommend.

I found this quite a difficult book to read, I was drawn in by the description but, I found it slow and quite tedious at times and was glad when I finished it. Having read other reviews I’m going to say I wasn’t the only one to find this.
I’m sure a lot of people would enjoy this type of book especially if they are into a Victorian story but, unfortunately this one was not for me.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

The Silent Companions is a spine-chilling gothic horror novel by Laura Purcell.

Set in 1866, The Silent Companions follows Elsie, pregnant with her late husbands’ baby and staying at the dilapidated family house, The Bridge. It soon becomes apparent hat this will not be the safe retreat that Elsie needs for the rest of her pregnancy.
The story flits between two timelines. The first set a couple of hundred years before and seen through a diary that is discovered along with the wooden figure and then also from Elsie’s point of view in 1866.
She discovers a strange wooden figure, a silent companion, that looks eerily like herself hidden away, locked inside a dark and dusty room. The figure frightens the staff, some reporting that the figure moves and its eyes follow them. Strange noises, bumps and peculiar hisses in the night, missing diamonds and betrayal.
Is it all superstition or there something far more sinister at work?

The Silent Companions is a story of family secrets and tragedy, death and grief.
Its beautifully written with creepily atmospheric descriptions that left me chilled to the bone. Laura Purcell has written a wonderful cast of varied characters. The one who stands out for me is our main character, Elsie who we follow on her tragic journey from strong willed business woman to the broken and pitiful patient we find in St Joseph’s.
This story is a great read for this time of year, perfect for Halloween if like me you like a good scare.
Spine chillingly creepy!!

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the opportunity to read this book.

I love Purcell's eerie novels .. this one was intriguing also in uneasy relationship between women we are hearing story from .. it took me a moment to absorb their povs in the uncomfortable setting for Elsie .. but as things unravel and a secret locked room containing what is almost a totem appears... I got more hooked ..I was sort of reading between my fingers at some moments. .. really delivers the goods, as they say!

Newly married, newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband’s crumbling country estate, The Bridge.
With her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie only has her husband’s awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. But inside her new home lies a locked room, and beyond that door lies a two-hundred-year-old diary and a deeply unsettling painted wooden figure – a Silent Companion – that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself...
Elsie travels to her late husbands home, The Bridge, with Sarah, a relative of her late husbands. Once there, she finds the villagers of Fayfield to be hostile and afraid. Inside the house, Elsie discovers life-sized figures known as silent companions, but these companions appear to move about - very creepy.
Then the story is taken up by Anne Bainbridge at the time of Charles I and moves between the two timelines. This is well done and often you don't know just who, as a reader, you can trust.

The descriptive writing is excellent, taking you to the dark and dusty corridors of a rundown house.
I liked the unusual storyline with the silent companions which added an extra creepiness factor. Overall chilling and unsettling.

a brilliant book i really enjoyed it from beginning to the end. I love victorian novels so this was definetley my kind of book well done

The Silent Companions is a haunting Gothic ghost story set across two timelines 1800's and 1600's and mainly set in an old haunted mansion called The Bridge .This is such an atmospheric book and the descriptions of the era was very interesting .The Companions were the scariest things ever ,throw in witchcraft, ghosts and spooky happenings and you have this wonderful book that is so gripping and hard to put down .I absolutely loved the ending it was so unexpected and shocking but so perfect .I would give this book 10 stars if I could .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .

Oooh this was so good. Just what I was looking for on the creepy/haunting/scary level. Never to be read before bed! Brilliant.

Oh, I enjoyed this. A creepy ghostly read, atmospheric and mysterious.

Elsie Bainbridge is isolated at The Bridge, a house owned by her recently deceased husband, and to where she has been sent to await the birth of her child. Elsie has little company aside from a cousin of her husband, and a small number of staff. But the discovery of a wooden portrait in the attic leads to a chilling series of events…

The wooden girl becomes one of many ‘silent companions’ who move throughout the house and create disturbances, physical and emotional. Is this all real, or just the impact of Elsie’s trauma?

Compelling and haunting.

This is a creepy story. One of those that you shouldn't read at night, but you do anyway, then spend the rest of the night running from light switch to light switch! As much as it freaked me out, I couldnt put it down.

Eliza's journey in this house is full of torment, lies and frustrations.

There are lots of reviews with spoilers, so I won't do that, but if you love a ghost story with a bit of horror and full on creepiness. I highly recommend this book.

This was a deliciously creepy tale that ultimately left me a little bit cold at the end. It tells the story of Eliza Bainbridge, a recent widow, as she moves to her husband's country estate after his death. There are some genuinely unnerving scenes in the narrative and I thought the prose was fabulous. My only criticism is that I found the plot a little bit predictable, particularly towards the end. That being said, I thought that Purcell did a wonderful job of creating the atmosphere - the house was very claustrophobic and the menace was often palpable. Eliza was a fascinating character with a rich and developed history and I loved the time shifted chapters that went back to 1635 and the original Bainbridge family. All in all, I really enjoyed this book but just wish that the ending had been more of a surprise.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

DNF. Unfortunately just didn't end up being the book for. Apologies for not being able to deliver a proper review.

A great atmospheric gothic chiller, and a lot darker than I was expecting. Full of all the gothic horror tropes you'd expect but done really well, and beautifully written with characters with plenty of depth.

(ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley)

Widow Elsie Bainbridge is heavily pregnant when she moves to The Bridge, a dilapidated country estate for her confinement. Mourning the recent death of her husband, Elsie tries to settle in and prepare herself for the arrival of her baby but The Bridge’s secrets drive her into terrifying new territory. Elsie has only scratched the surface of what the place conceals. The villagers refuse any involvement with it, citing superstition and witchcraft as their provocation. With looks of fear and looks of dread, they guard themselves against the place because it carries terrible secrets and it has carried them for decades. But Elsie believes there is more to the villagers’ fear than she is aware of. But soon it’s wretched past will catch up with her and Elsie will know why The Bridge is shrouded in darkness.







Elsie is very proud and astute but gradually you to see her strength begin to fray, her nerves rattle as life at The Bridge turns rotten. When she chances upon two wooden figures – a boy and a girl – exquisitely painted to an almost life-life degree, she is struck by the resemblance between herself and the girl. But they are not simply wooden figures, not trinkets to admire and enjoy. As the house’s past comes into sharp focus, Elsie recognises the malice running through its history, is running through her life now.









I was held fast from start to finish. Laura Purcell keeps the suspense climbing to – what I thought were insurmountable – new heights. The atmosphere, the tension, the characters, everything is honed to glorious perfection. As you can probably tell, I really loved this book!







The Silent Companions is incredible. After reading just a few chapters, I felt fingers of fear creep down my spine. If you let your imagination take hold, you can almost imagine the ‘hiss hiss’ in the next room. It’s as chilling as it is gripping. Laura Purcell deftly weaves a genius, haunting tale that is impossible to stop thinking about. I can’t wait to read her next book!!







Atmospheric. Haunting. Outstanding.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this novel. Unfortunately I didn't find it at all scary or disturbing. I liked the idea of the 'silent companions', and thought them quite interesting in themselves, and why people bought them, but the use of them in the story just wasn't really effective. The rest of the story I actually enjoyed!

I read a physical copy of this book that was purchased, however I had previously been provided a digital ARC in exchange for a review. This review is spoiler-free.

The Silent Companions had been sitting quietly on my Kindle for months when Author Sister recommended it.  She had purchased the hardcover and absolutely devoured it -- it ticks a lot of boxes for both of us. I decided to pick up her copy to beat back some of the post-holiday fatigue and was floored by this modern Gothic novel.


Newly married, newly widowed Elsie is sent to see out her pregnancy at her late husband's crumbling country estate, The Bridge.

With her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie only has her husband's awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. For inside her new home lies a locked room, and beyond that door lies a two-hundred-year-old diary and a deeply unsettling painted wooden figure – a Silent Companion – that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself...*


I absolutely love hardback books without dust jackets.  There's something about the design being printed on the physical book that absolutely delights me.  Plus -- a cut out!  I love cut outs.  There was obviously a great deal of care put into the production of this book.  I highly recommend getting the UK hardback if you're a book magpie like myself.

Now, onto the actual book.  The copy above doesn’t quite encompass the scope of the novel.  It sprawls across three points of view over three periods in time -- the 1600’s, the 1800’s, and the period after the climax of the book. We primarily get the point of view of Elsie Bainbridge, the newly married, and newly widowed, mistress of The Bridge, her late husband’s sprawling and crumbling country estate.  The book is creepy, compelling, and completely addictive.  I frightened myself several times while reading late into the night.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot, as you should always go into Gothic and horror novels without knowing much at all, but it is a fantastic modernization of the classic Gothic novel.  What made this book work so well for me is the character of Elsie -- she is a difficult and complex character who manages to be simultaneously sympathetic and unsympathetic.  She’s an unreliable narrator and I just always had the sense that she’s not being entirely honest with us.  I love a grey-area protagonist, particularly one that is female, and Elsie fit the bill perfectly.  I do think that the novel may have suffered if it was told in the third person instead.

Again, I don’t want to say too much, but The Silent Companions is well worth your time. If you love historical fiction, horror, the Gothic, or are still frightened by the Weeping Angels (me), you should absolutely pick up this incredible standalone.  It is guaranteed to send shivers down your spine.  And if you enjoy it, Purcell’s next novel, Corset, is due out in 2018!

Laura Purcell is the author of two excellent pieces of historical fiction set in Georgian England, one, Queen of Bedlam, about Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, and the other, Mistress of the Court, a fictionalised account of the life of Henrietta Howard, who became the mistress of Prince George (later King George II). Both are excellent and eminently readable; they’re incredibly well-researched, well-written and informative without being dry. Her latest novel, The Silent Companions, is thus a bit of a departure, a mystery/horror story in the gothic tradition that is hauntingly atmospheric and downright unsettling; if it had been a film, I suspect I’d have been watching at least part of it from behind the sofa!

When we first meet Elsie Bainbridge, she’s a patient at St. Joseph’s Hospital for the Insane, and is widely believed to be a murderess. Having been badly burned in a fire at The Bridge, the old country house she had inherited from her late husband, Rupert, she is still recovering from her injuries, and is unable to speak or remember much of what happened. Her new doctor, Dr. Shepherd, is young, sympathetic and more progressive than some of the others who have attended her, and he encourages her to tell her story by writing it all down. He believes that her inability to speak or remember may be the result of suppressed trauma, and that if she can tell her story in a detached way, as if speaking of someone else, it may help him to understand her better and ultimately, find ways to help her.

So Elsie, who is exhausted, worn-down and wants nothing more than to escape from the pain and awfulness of her life into laudanum induced numbness, begins to write her story, which opens in 1865, shortly after the death of the husband. She married Rupert Bainbridge partly in order to help her brother’s struggling match factory, but found happiness in her short-lived marriage of convenience, and is now expecting Rupert’s child. Having received news of her husband’s death, Elsie is travelling to Rupert’s family home, The Bridge, accompanied by Sarah, a poor relation of Rupert’s who came to live with them following the death of the elderly lady to whom she was a paid companion. Truth to tell, Elsie doesn’t think that much of Sarah and finds her insipid, but they are drawn together as the story progresses and the pair eventually come to depend upon and trust one another.

As they travel through the nearest village of Fayford, Elsie can practically feel the hostility coming from its inhabitants, who are, she learns later, so fearful of The Bridge – believing it was once inhabited by a witch, and that its history is littered with strange accidents and unexplained deaths – that none of them will set foot in the place. The few servants who work there are not locals, and are very disgruntled at the appearance of a new mistress because, Elsie suspects, it means the end of the easy life they’ve enjoyed up until now.

Exploring the house with Sarah, Elsie finds some unusual objects in the attic, several life-sized figures painted on wood and cut to shape with bevelled edges to give the impression of depth. Known as Silent Companions (or dummy boards), Elsie is initially amused by them and has a few of them moved into the house, but when they start to appear in places other than where they have been put, and more than were originally brought down are found in various locations throughout the house, both Elsie and Sarah become convinced that they represent something sinister and eventually to believe that their lives may be in danger.

The other part of the story is told through the pages of the diary of Sarah’s ancestor, Anne Bainbridge, who lived during the time of King Charles I. Anne and her husband are to be honoured by a visit from the king and queen, and Anne is shopping in the village when she notices some unusual items in one of the shops – large, cut out figures that look very lifelike and which she purchases in order to provide a whimsical diversion during the planned royal visit. Josiah and Anne Bainbridge have a good marriage, three strapping sons and a young daughter, Hetta, who was born mute – but it quickly emerges that Anne is haunted by the circumstances under which Hetta was conceived. Having lost her beloved sister and best friend, Mary, over a decade earlier, Anne was so desperate to have another female in her life, someone to trust and confide in, that she drank a special tisane or potion in order to make sure she conceived a girl. But now, Anne is haunted by her actions – which could bring an accusation of witchcraft – and her husband takes care to distance himself from Hetta, expressly excluding her from the events that will take place during the king and queen’s visit.

Ms. Purcell does a terrific job of balancing the telling of the story through both timelines, and the way she shows Elsie disintegrating before our eyes is uncomfortable and masterful all at once. She keeps us constantly on our toes, making us doubt our narrators, playing with our perceptions and questioning whether those things we have just discovered or been told are real or imagined. If I have a criticism, it’s that the story is perhaps a little slow to start, but once it really gets going it quickly becomes gripping and completely un-putdownable – and even now, hours after finishing it, I’m still getting that feeling of breathless chills as I think back to it. The story is permeated by feelings of unease and foreboding, and the author really knows how to ramp up the tension; the latter part of the story is a rollercoaster ride of creepiness of all kinds – and I’ll say here that there are a few descriptions that don’t spare any of the gory details and aren’t for the faint-hearted. But without question, the book is beautifully written and the descriptions of the depressing atmosphere inside the run-down house and the dreariness of the surrounding countryside are incredibly evocative and put the reader right in the middle of those dark, oppressive corridors and damp, mist-shrouded fields; this is no idyllic English village or beautifully kept beloved family home.

We’re left with as many questions as answers by the time the story closes, and the ending is a real kicker – utterly brilliant and something I most definitely didn’t see coming. If you need explanations and closure in your books, then you might find the final ambiguity here a little frustrating, but honestly, the last lines fit the tone of the rest of the book so perfectly, I can’t imagine it ending any other way.

If you’ve been looking for a heartily unnerving, chilling gothic ghost story, then look no further. Just make sure you read The Silent Companions with the lights on.

Grade 4.5 stars/A- = DIK