Review of The Last Heir to Blackwood Library

When Ivy Radcliffe suddenly inherits a country estate with a grand and ancient library from an unknown relative, it seems like a dream come true. But that dream slowly turns into a nightmare as the library’s dark secrets come to light. This is the premise of Hester Fox’s Gothic fantasy novel The Last Heir to Blackwood Library, which came out back in April. 

When Ivy Radcliffe receives a summons from a solicitor, she is unprepared for how completely her life is about to change. She had been scraping by as a young woman on her own in London since the Great War stole everyone she loved. Now suddenly, she is Lady Hayworth, owner of Blackwood Abbey, a grand estate in the Yorkshire moors. When she arrives, the taciturn servants seem particularly reluctant to allow her into the very room she is most eager to see: the sprawling library, whose vast collection is said to contain all sorts of rare and esoteric texts dating back to the abbey’s ecclesiastical days before the dissolution of the monasteries. The abbey’s storied past has also given rise to rumors about a curse on the Hayworth family and hauntings from the spirit of a mad monk. Ivy tries to dismiss any suggestions of the supernatural, but strange occurrences keep her from comfortably settling into her new home. Headaches plague her whenever she spends time in the library, whole conversations and periods of time seem to slip from her memory, and odd disasters eerily parallel the contents of the books that she lends out to neighboring villagers. Blackwood library isn’t just a treasure trove of stories and knowledge, it contains a power that is truly special and unique—and, as Ivy will soon learn, there are people who would do anything to get access to its contents.

The Last Heir to Blackwood Library draws on one of the oldest archetypes in Gothic literature: the corrupted clergy. Much like the title character in Matthew Lewis’s The Monk (1797), the antagonist of this book is a Catholic monk who has corrupted the teachings of his faith and dabbled in dark magic. In this case, the hauntings and curse that plague Blackwood Abbey are rooted in the abbey’s history as a religious institution, which came to an abrupt and violent end during Henry VIII’s reign. But its connection to religion is not entirely negative. The legacy of the mad monk is balanced out by the benevolent spirit of an anchorite nun who also haunts the library and helps point Ivy toward the answers she seeks.

The book also blends together two other classic Gothic tropes: the Faustian bargain and the family curse. The Hayworth family—and now their distant relatives, the Radcliffes—are bound to Blackwood’s library due to an ill-advised bargain struck by one of their ancestors. Each generation, a Hayworth heir suffers a premature death after being preyed upon by the library’s dark magic. When Ivy is pulled out of poverty to inherit the estate, she also inherits the terrible family curse. In order to break that curse, she will have to discover its origins and defeat the source of the library’s power.

If you’re intrigued by a Gothic story set in the aftermath of World War I with a sprinkling of ghosts, the supernatural, and magical libraries, definitely check out The Last Heir to Blackwood Library. You can find it on shelves now at your favorite local retailer, or order it online and support The Gothic Library in the process using this Bookshop.org affiliate link. If you’ve already read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!