‘You do not need to drink blood to devour someone, you drain them from inside, spirit and soul!’
Hungary, 1604. Lowly servant Catalina arrives at Csejte Castle alone. Orphaned at an early age, the castle’s dark corridors and busy backrooms create a new home of sorts – even if the bickering politics of the other staff seems never ending, and the widowed matriarch is prone to explosive rages.
But Catalina’s catapulted up the ranks when it becomes clear only she can handle the wild Countess Erzsébet and her thirst for peculiar medicines... like the blood of young girls, known for its anti-ageing properties.
Despite new girls entering the castle going missing on a daily basis, Catalina discovers Erzsébet really isn't so bad once you get to know her… if you live that long.
Perfect for fans of Weyward by Emilia Hart, The Doll Factory by Elizabeth MacNeal and The Familiars by Stacey Halls.
The Last Handmaid
By Clare Whitfield
Dracula meets The Devil Wears Prada in this historical thriller inspired by the alleged most prolific female serial killer, from the award-winning author of People of Abandoned Character.
Material available
Please contact the Rights Manager
Rights Sold
All Rights AvailableBook Details
Imprint: Aries | Pub date: November 2026 | Format: 229 x 148mm | Extent: 400 pages
About the Author
Clare Whitfield is a UK based writer. While studying for an MA in Creative & Critical Writing at the University of Winchester, her fiction appeared on Spelk, Commuter-Lit, Literary Orphans and in Matt Shaw’s Masters of Horror anthology. Clare has published three crime fiction novels, People of Abandoned Character, which won the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award in 2021; The Gone and The Forgotten; and Poor Girls, which was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger award.
