Beth Castrodale at Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store welcomes Beth Castrodale—former senior editor at Bedford/St. Martin’s, founding editor of the book-review website Small Press Picks, and author of Marion Hatley, In This Ground, and I Mean You No Harm—for a discussion of her new novel The Inhabitants. She will be joined in conversation by Virginia Pye—award-winning author of Shelf Life of Happiness and The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann.

About The Inhabitants

After a run of misfortune, portrait artist Nilda Ricci could use a stroke of luck. She seems to get just that when she inherits a shadowy Victorian, designed by an architect whose works were said to influence the mind— supposedly, in beneficial ways. At first, Nilda’ s new home delivers multiple gifts, including the unexpected appearance of a housekeeper who’ d helped maintain the home for years. Also, Nilda finds herself falling for a handsome neighbor, a chemist whose herbal tonics boost her creativity to new heights. But as Nilda seeks revenge-by-painting against a contempt-worthy portrait subject, she begins having strange experiences in the house, making her wonder whether the place is haunted or whether its architect’ s intentions were less than benevolent. She also begins to suspect that her neighbor, and his gifts of tonics, aren’ t what they seem. All along, the housekeeper seems to be looking out for Nilda. But in time she reveals needs of her own, which may prove more powerful than anything in the house...or beyond it.

Praise for The Inhabitants

“Take the classic Gothic element of a spooky old house, add a dash of modern #MeToo seasoning, and let everything simmer in the warmth of timeless maternal love, and you have Beth Castrodale’s deliciously clever new novel. The Inhabitants, dream-drenched and mysterious, tantalizes and satisfies to the final pages. A remarkable read.” —Chauna Craig, author of The Widow’s Guide to Edible Mushrooms and Wings & Other Things

“From the idiosyncratic house the novel’s artist-mother heroine, Nilda, inherits, to the mysterious housekeeper she also inherits, to the eccentric neighbor who invents “creativity” tonics for Nilda, to the revelation that the man whose portrait Nilda is commissioned to paint poses a danger that must be stopped, dread and fascination permeate Beth Castrodale’s fiercely feminist modern-Gothic novel. But while The Inhabitants is heady and menacing, it’s also a tender story about the undying devotion of motherly love.” —Michelle Ross, author of They Kept Running, Shapeshifting, and There’s So Much They Haven’t Told You

“The deceptively innocuous spell cast by The Inhabitants is like walking in a pleasant wood and encountering a coiled rattlesnake. This well-crafted book is highly recommended for those who love tales of the supernatural. The otherworldly elements are finely blended with life’s challenges, the lure of romance, magic potions, and the life-altering presence of evil.” —Morgan Howell, author of The Moon Won’t Talk

Masking Policy

Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.