We were huge fans of Danielle Giles' stunning debut Mere and we're delighted to be welcoming Danielle back to Romiley on Tuesday 15th September for the launch of her second novel Gentle Things - a chilling historical thriller full of mystery and madness set in a 17th Centruy London that is still recovering from Plague and the Great Fire. Danielle will be in conversation with Hannah MacDonald and the talk will be followed by an audience Q&A and booksigning.

Tickets are just £5.00 (or £18.99 including a copy of the book) and light refereshments are included.

Doors: 6.00pm, starts: 6.30pm

About the book:

London, 1668. Though the streets hum with promise following the restoration of the crown, Lucy North is trapped. Her father's recent death has left her mother saddled with debts she cannot pay. Lucy must marry the first man willing to take her without a dowry.

So when she meets Thomas Ashwell, a young and charming apothecary, Lucy quickly identifies an attractive route out. She falls in love easily, and when Thomas proposes she believes her future is finally secured.

But when Lucy falls and injures her head during their wedding party, things start to warp. Confined to her bedroom her dreams refuse to leave her at daybreak, and the voice in her head no longer sounds like her own. As Thomas plies her with tinctures and cures, a creeping fear takes root: Has this marriage saved her? Or will it bring about her end?

"Gentle Things is a radiant historical novel filled with longing and madness. Beautifully drawn, it's a tense descent into madness until the final page. A daring and devouring gothic gem of a novel" - Lucy Rose (The Lamb)

About the author:

Danielle Giles is a writer and researcher based in Bristol. She has been published (writing as Danielle Vrublevskis) in Extra Teeth and Dear Damsels, shortlisted for the Bristol Short Story Prize and the Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize and longlisted for the Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize. She won the Local Prize in the 2023 Bath Short Story Award. Mere, her debut novel, was published by Mantle in 2025. Gentle Things is her second novel.