The Darkening Globe
By (Author) Naomi Kelsey
HarperCollins Publishers
HarperNorth
26th August 2025
24th April 2025
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Contemporary horror and ghost stories
Historical crime and mysteries
Fiction: general and literary
Narrative theme: Politics
Narrative theme: Health and illness
Narrative theme: Journeys and voyages
Hardback
384
Width 159mm, Height 240mm, Spine 30mm
520g
Each time the globe turns, murder strikes
1597, London. When Beatrices husband returns from exploring the New World, he comes home with unexpected company: a mysterious woman, and an enormous painted globe.
As Hugh refuses to explain who their female guest is, Beatrices foreboding grows. The unwieldy globe now strikes her as sinister a reminder of the world of secrets pervading her household.
Then one night, the great, hulking globe begins to turn of its own accord. Terrifying new illustrations appear on its face and when untimely deaths ensue, Beatrice is convinced that the drawings are connected.
Desperate to prove that she is not paranoid, Beatrice risks everything to uncover the truth. What sinister force is behind these killings What really happened on Hughs excursion to the Americas Who is the strange woman who wont leave her house And on this otherworldly map of murders, who will be painted as the final victim
***
Deliciously gothic and twisty LUCY ROSE
Will make your head spin ANNIE GARTHWAITE
Deliciously gothic and twisty, Naomi Kelsey has crafted a deeply haunted mystery novel that I found impossible to put down. The Darkening Globe is filled with chilling and beguiling prose, and right at the centre, an atmospheric and stirring mystery keeps the ghostly pages turning. LUCY ROSE, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lamb
An Elizabethan psychological thriller who could ask for more Confident, vividly imagined, infused with historical detail and riven by dramatic tension, Naomi Kelseys The Darkening Globe will make your head spin and keep you turning the pages late into the night ANNIE GARTHWAITE, author of Cecily
'Ravishing, creepy, meticulously researched, The Darkening Globe is an intoxicating story of Elizabethan exploration, madness and murder.' CATHRYN KEMP, author of The Poisoner's Tale
'With The Darkening Globe, Naomi Kelsey cements her position as one of the foremost writers of historical fiction today. The strong characterisation, rich description and gothic atmosphere make The Darkening Globe a must-read. If you enjoyed The Burnings, you will love The Darkening Globe. I could not put it down until every secret was exposed.' LAURA SHEPPERSON, author of The Heir of Venus
***PRAISE FOR THE BURNINGS
I was mesmerised LAURA SHEPPERSON, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Heroines
A beautifully written re-imagining clever and tantalising SG MACLEAN
This gripping, vividly evoked novel takes the reader to the dark heart of the 16th century unforgettable TRACY BORMAN
Naomi Kelsey is the author of The Burnings, and the winner of two Northern Writers Awards and of the HWA Dorothy Dunnett Competition 2021. Her fiction has been published in Mslexia magazine and shortlisted for several further awards including the Bridport Prize and the Bristol Prize. By day she is an English teacher in Newcastle, where she lives with her husband and their two children.