The Nightingale's Castle

A Novel of Erzsébet Báthory, the Blood Countess

By: Sonia Velton

Narrated by: Elinor Coleman

In the vein of riveting historical novels such as Hamnet and Circe—with a touch of Dracula—a propulsive feminist reimagining of the story of Erzsébet Báthory, the infamous sixteenth-century Hungarian aristocrat known as the “Blood Countess”, who was rumored to have murdered hundreds of peasant girls and bathed in their blood.

In 1573, Countess Erzsébet Báthory gives birth to an illegitimate child. Secretly taken to a peasant family living in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, the infant girl is raised as their own. Years later, a young woman called Boróka—ignorant of her true history—is sent to join the Countess’s household.

Terrified of the Countess’s murderous reputation and the brutally cruel women who run the castle, Boróka struggles to find her place. Then plague breaches the castle’s walls, and a tentative bond unexpectedly forms between the girl and the Countess. But powerful forces are moving against the great lady whose wealth and independence threatens the king. Can the Countess trust the women seemingly so close to her? And when the show trial begins against the infamous “Blood Countess” where will Boróka’s loyalties lie?

©2024 Sonia Velton (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

Mixed Thoughts - Fantastic Audio Performance

Erzsebet Bathory, the Blood Countess, is a historical figure reviled for (allegedly) murdering hundreds of peasant girls and bathing in their blood.

But did she do it?

In THE NIGHTINGALE’S CASTLE, we’re introduced to an alternate version of Bathory, as a woman in power persecuted by the men who resent her.

I loved the premise of this story. The writing was good and held my interest. Ultimately, though, the execution fell a little short for me.

First, we have a lot of POV characters. I lost track of how many. I listened to the audiobook, which made it harder for me to keep up with the quick procession of characters. Bathory’s character remains in the background through much of the story, with the focus instead on the young women in her home.

Then we have a magical element that’s introduced late and not really explored. And that makes this book fantasy-adjacent, not really fantasy but also not plausible in reality. I needed to go deeper into that magic for the fantasy aspect to work, or to remove it altogether for a more realistic exploration.

The audiobook production is well done. Elinor Coleman does a fantastic job with the narration.