The Tarot Reader of Versailles: The spellbinding new novel from the international bestselling author of THE WITCHES OF VARDO

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Two women. An extraordinary power. An explosive bond.
In a time of revolution, their fates will lie in the turn of a card . . .

It is the early days of the French Revolution and, on the streets of Paris, terror reigns.

Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand is a young woman with an extraordinary power - through her tarot cards, she can commune with the dead, revolutionaries and the aristocracy alike seeking her out to divine their fortunes. Lenormand is loyal to Marie Antoinette and the dauphin of France, but she has seen the queen's fate in the cards and must take care that it doesn't become her own.

Then, one fateful day, she comes across Cait, a scullery maid from Ireland who has travelled to Paris for love. Cait has powers too - she can read people's pasts as Lenormand reads their futures. The two young women share an electrifying connection, drawn to each other's abilities. But Cait is hiding something. What will she do - and who will she betray - to bring revolution to the shores of her beloved Ireland too

Inspired by the astonishing true story of Marie-Anne Adelaide Lenormand, The Tarot Reader of Versailles is a sweeping, powerful novel where allegiances, betrayals and even fate itself can be forged or broken by the turn of a card . . .

*Selected as a Bookseller pick of the month*

Praise for The Tarot Reader of Versailles:

'An epic and engrossing tale, which holds the reader captive throughout'
Caroline Lea

'A sumptuous, ingenious tale . . . I was transported to the lavishness of the French court, to the wild beauty of Ireland, to the magic of myth and tarot - and I absolutely loved every glorious page'
Fiza Saeed McLynn

'Enchanting and captivating. I was enthralled right from the start'
Angie Spoto

'A propulsive, seductive story'
Kat Gordon

'Truly a rich tapestry that weaves together history, love, and a sprinkle of magic'
Catherine Prasifka

Reviews

A complex, epic and engrossing tale, which is part emotive love story with a fantastical edge, part fascinating historical exploration of the French Revolution and part compulsive revenge story, which holds the reader captive throughout. . . . The voices of these two women who find themselves caught up in the heady and dangerous world of the Revolution are beautifully drawn. * Caroline Lea, author of The Glass Woman and Love, Sex & Frankenstein *
I was totally swept up in this epic story of fate and betrayal, love and intrigue. As the two women fight for their futures and ideals in a world in which everything is turned upside down, every twist left me reeling. Bergman effortlessly conjures the glittering excess of Versailles and the heady ideals of revolutionary Paris. Opulent and gripping, this novel is clear-sighted about the costs of revolution, and the people who get left behind. * Danielle Giles, author of Mere *
An enchanting and captivating novel that beautifully weaves together the perspectives of two very different women during the bloody French Revolution. I was enthralled right from the start and gripped by the immersive world Bergman created. * Angie Spoto, author of The Grief Nurse and The Bone Diver *
A propulsive, seductive story. The French Revolution setting is fascinating and captured in all its gory detail, and the hidden, dark desires of human hearts are skilfully exposed at every turn. I devoured it! * Kat Gordon, author of The Swell *
Reading The Tarot Reader of Versailles is like stepping into the most exquisite treasure trove; pearls of history are gilded with the mystical to create a sumptuous, ingenious tale of love, fate and the fight for equality. I was transported to the lavishness of the French court, to the wild beauty of Ireland, to the magic of myth and tarot - and I absolutely loved every glorious page. * Fiza Saeed McLynn, author of The Midnight Carousel *
A joy to read . . . Truly a rich tapestry that weaves together history, love, and a sprinkle of magic. The story is so expansive, I felt like I was walking the streets of Paris . . . It effortlessly wove fact into fiction to create a remarkable story. * Catherine Prasifka, author of None of This Is Serious *
A gorgeously written, at times fantastical and deeply immersive novel, The Tarot Reader of Versailles had me captivated from the first page. Truly, historical fiction at its best. * Molly Aitken, author of Bright I Burn and The Island Child *
Three women's fight for survival in a time of madness. Utterly propulsive. * Kiran Millwood Hargrave on The Witches of Vardo *
A passionate indictment of the patriarchy ... a vibrant exaltation of the resilience of women ... Anya Bergman summons a historic witch trial with breathtaking detail and immediacy * Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites, on The Witches of Vardo *

Author Bio

Anya Bergman's debut novel The Witches of Vard was an international bestseller. Now resident in Ireland, she is currently undertaking a PhD by Published Works at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland, where she also lectures as well as tutoring for Jericho Writers. The Tarot Reader of Versailles is her second novel.