Heather Parry – författare

In the future, we’ll all be having sex with robots… won’t we? Roboticists say they’re a distracting science fiction, yet endless books, films and articles are written on the subject. Campaigns are even mounted against them. So why are sex robots such a hot topic? Electric Dreams picks apart the forces that posit sex robots as either the solution to our problems or a real threat to human safety, and looks at what’s being pushed aside for us to obsess about something that will never happen.

A powerful and spine-tingling gothic tale exploring mother-daughter relationships, sexuality, and class.‘As mesmerizing as it is surreal, Carrion Crow is a haunting gothic tapestry’ Lucy Rose, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lamb‘One of the best books I've read this year! … I loved it’ Julia Armfield, author of Private Rites and Our Wives Under The Sea‘A gruesome, provocative, stylish fairytale.... A true Gothic gem’ Kaliane Bradley, bestselling author of The Ministry of TimeThere are some facts about the world that only your mother can teach you.Marguerite had been confined for the sake of her wellbeing.That’s what her mother had said.Marguerite Périgord is locked in the attic of her family home, a towering Chelsea house overlooking the stinking Thames.For company she has a sewing machine, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management and a carrion crow who has come to nest in the rafters. Restless, she spends her waning energies on the fascinations of her own body, memorising Mrs Beeton’s advice and longing for her life outside.Cécile Périgord has confined her daughter Marguerite for her own good. Cécile is concerned that Marguerite’s engagement to a much older, near-penniless solicitor, will drag the family name – her husband’s name, that is – into disrepute. And for Cécile, who has worked hard at her own betterment, this simply won’t do.Cécile’s life has taught her that no matter how high a woman climbs she can just as readily fall.Of course, both have their secrets, intentions and histories to hide. As Marguerite’s patience turns into rage, the boundaries of her mind and body start to fray.And neither woman can recognise what the other is becoming.Praise for Carrion Crow:‘One of the most important new voices in fiction, with Carrion Crow Heather Parry deduces an unutterable Gothic horror of class and gender... magnificent and devastating’ Alan Moore, award-winning author of Watchman and V for Vendetta‘Grizzly, compelling, and utterly claustrophobic’ Heather Darwent, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Things We Do to Our Friends‘Beautifully written with such dark, claustrophobic precision, exploring the devastating control we assert upon one another. Such an achievement.’ Rachelle Atalla, award-winning author of The Pharmacist‘Delicate, deftly written and enticingly obscene, Carrion Crow will captivate you from the first sentence and haunt you long after the story ends. I've never read anything quite like it’ Jan Carson, prize-winning author of The Raptures

‘One of the most important new voices in fiction’ Alan Moore, author of WatchmenHeather, a young performance artist with middling talent but flawless instincts for self-promotion, becomes an emblem of our times. As she prepares a work that promises ultimate revelation, her sense of the real begins to disintegrate.By smashing apart the circuit board of late-capitalist life, we can now, at last, witness our ecosystem of surveillance and exploitation. In the sparking cables and blinking lights, we see clearly the humming madness beneath the surface of every image. And the violence of a world that insists on value in constant visibility.Taking its reader on a cultural hell-ride – from reenactments of JFK’s assassination to cherished friends that turn into pillars of salt – This Machine Feeds answers the question that howls in all of our chests: how can I be sane in insane times?

‘A gruesome, provocative, stylish fairytale’ Kaliane Bradley, internationally bestselling author of The Ministry of Time‘Magnificent and devastating’ Alan Moore, author of Watchman‘As mesmerizing as it is surreal, a haunting gothic tapestry’ Lucy Rose, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lamb ‘I loved it’ Julia Armfield, author of Our Wives Under The Sea‘Will win awards’ Observer‘A worthy entrant into the contemporary gothic hall of fame’ Financial TimesMarguerite Périgord is locked in the attic of her family home, a towering Chelsea house overlooking the stinking Thames. For company she has a sewing machine, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management and a carrion crow who has come to nest in the rafters. Restless, she spends her waning energies on the fascinations of her own body, memorising Mrs Beeton’s advice and longing for her life outside.Cécile Périgord has confined her daughter Marguerite for her own good. Cécile is concerned that Marguerite’s engagement to a much older, near-penniless solicitor, will drag the family name – her husband’s name, that is – into disrepute. And for Cécile, who has worked hard at her own betterment, this simply won’t do. Cécile’s life has taught her that no matter how high a woman climbs she can just as readily fall.Of course, both have their secrets, intentions and histories to hide. As Marguerite’s patience turns into rage, the boundaries of her mind and body start to fray. And neither woman can recognise what the other is becoming.

'A chilling exploration of power, love and grief' - JULIA ARMFIELD

'I am in awe of this wonderful book' - EDWARD CAREY

'Terrifyingly brilliant . . . intoxicating and beautiful' - CAMILLA GRUDOVA

Wilhelm von Tore is dying. As he looks back on his life, he reflects on his upbringing in Dresden, his beloved grandmother, and his medical career during the Second World War. But mostly, he remembers his darling Luci, the great love of his life, his dark-haired beauty promised to him in a dream years before they met.

Though only together for a few months in her first life, their love is written in the stars. Using scientific research compiled over decades, Wilhelm ensures that, for him and his beloved, death is only the beginning.

But through the cracks in Wilhelm's story, there is another voice - that of Gabriela, and she will not let this version of events go unchallenged. She tells the story of her sister Luciana, fearless and full of life, and the madman who robbed her from her grave.

FURTHER PRAISE:

'Heather Parry is a literary star of the future' - Kirsty Logan

'Strangely beautiful . . . an intensely gripping debut' - Alice Ash

'A wild, creepy, compelling read' - Jan Carson

'Sumptuously written and impossible to step away from' - Katie Hale

'Disturbing and compelling in equal measure' - The Big Issue

Thehotly anticipated debut novel from award-winning author Heather Parry, OrpheusBuilds a Girl is a truly chilling modern Gothic, based on a true story ofsexual obsession and evil masquerading as love. For fans of Carmen MariaMachado, Eliza Clark, Kristen Roupenian and Julia Armfield.