Bluebeard's Castle

A Novel

By: Anna Biller

Narrated by: Samantha Hydeson

Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Bluebeard gets a feminist Gothic makeover in this subversive take on the famous French fairy tale—from the acclaimed director of The Love Witch, and for fans of Jane Eyre

When the successful British mystery writer Judith Moore meets Gavin, a handsome and charming baron, at a birthday party on the Cornish coast, his love transforms her from a bitter, lonely young woman into a romance heroine overnight. After a whirlwind honeymoon in Paris, he whisks her away to a secluded Gothic castle. But soon she finds herself trapped in a nightmare, as her husband’s mysterious nature and his alternation between charm and violence become increasingly frightening.

As Judith battles both internal and external demons, including sexual ambivalence, psychological self-torture, gaslighting, family neglect, alcoholism, and domestic abuse, she becomes increasingly addicted to her wild beast of a husband. Why do women stay in abusive relationships? The answer can be found in the tortured mind of the protagonist, whose richly layered fantasy life parallels that of the female Gothic romance reader. Filled with dark humor and evocative imagery, Bluebeard’s Castle is a subversive take on modern romance and Gothic erotica.

©2023 Anna Biller (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. “Bluebeard” by Sylvia Plath is reproduced with kind permission of Faber & Faber and HarperCollins.

Critic reviews

“Impressively original, inherently fascinating and vividly brought to life with the narrative storytelling skills of Samantha Hydeson.”—Midwest Book Review

"Bluebeard's Castle [is] … a stylised retelling of the old fable that mixes self-reference and gaudy excess. Its heroine, Judith, a gothic-romance novelist, shacks up in a crumbling castle with a brooding husband; the sex, death and pricy cognac are of a wildly enjoyable piece."—Cal Revely-Calder, Best Fiction Books of the Year, Telegraph

"Both a fantasy and a nightmare ... [Biller] casts a chilling light on the kinds of real-world fairy tales we are all still so often encouraged to believe."—Elizabeth Dearnley, Times Literary Supplement

Absolutely fantastic!

This book is gorgeous! I absolutely loved it and now that I’m finished I’m going to listen to again right after I watch my favorite movie “The Love Witch” for the billionth time. Thank you Anna Biller, you’ve changed my life!

This girls that get it, get it

Anna Biller is a gifted filmmaker, storyteller, and now author. Like her films, she comments on the genre from within. It starts as a fantasy, then is stripped away to horror, and finally - reality. A horrific depiction of male violence and the need we as a society should feel towards protecting victims. Also, no one can set a scene like Anna biller - the descriptions of the clothing, setting, and characters is rich, detailed, and sensual.

Fantastic Read

Finished this in a day. So beautifully written. It touches on so many relatable details.

Anna Biller’s So-Called Lovechild

Look, Anna Biller is a muddafuddin genius! What I love the most is how one can take a step back from an abusive situation they are in or have been in and see it told from an outsider’s pov. In this way, she is saving lives in a poetic and feminine and strong way!!!!

A masterpiece!

This is the best audiobook I’ve listened to ages, and Anna Biller’s storytelling is sublime!

Ms Biller Creates Yet Another Cult Classic

As a fan of Anna Biller's storytelling I was very keen to consume her latest offering. I was nervous going in because I had high expectations. Bluebeard's Castle is a banger. Women traverse this world assessing a slew of obstacles designed to keep us anxious to what and who surrounds us. The story of Judith, as fanciful as it is, reminds us that our sex determines how we navigate such obstacles. This gothic romance horror has it all and it's very clever and truthful. It gets ugly and it's confronting. It's also rich with descriptive passages that make it an absolute treat for those who enjoy Ms Biller's films.
You may recognize yourself in Judith. I did and that was scary. This audiobook is beautifully read and brings the Biller-verse in all it's Technicolor glory to the listener. Oh and there are some delightful comedic moments. I can't wait for a film version.

Anna Biller nails it!

I’m a big fan of Anna’s movies. I’ve seen them all. Her women and the situations they are thrust into are complicated. I can appreciate this!
This book takes the reader through the twists and turns of the mind of a woman in love who’s thinking becomes more and more distorted in an attempt to do anything and everything to satisfy her man.
Any woman will be able to relate to this story.
As an added bonus, Anna has great taste! She name drops classic crime drama and film noir movies and heroines as references at times.
I look forward to Ms. Biller’s next project!!

Amazing read

I picked this up because I love the love witch and this was written by the director of that movie and I literally need this to be a movie loved every minute of this book

Repetitive, Lists, Hand Holding

My wife and I both finished this book so you don't have to.

If you like being told lists of things over and over again, this book might be for you. If you like your main character repeating themselves a lot, this book is for you. If you like the author to hold your hand and use the same descriptions of the same people over and over again, this book is for you. Forgetting the content of the story itself, it just isn't very fun to read. Often giving us literally the same similies over an over again "like a Dracula" is one that was well overused.

This novel needs serious editing to be readable. The reader is slow and plodding, which is only exaggerated by the texts reuse of unnecessary similies.

I wanted to love this book. it came recommend to me by a close friend that I trust. Needless to say, I won't likely come to that person for a book recommendation again very soon.

Trash and not in a good way.

Had high hopes and expectations, as a fan of the original Bluebeard and a fan of Biller’s film work. I’m also an avid Gothic Romance reader. I found myself cringing and being annoyed constantly. Especially the over describing of food. I mean down to what the cat ate. The main character becomes so intolerable as well as the husband. The plot is derivative and unsurprising. Like all the well known GR stories all mashed into one. It definitely seems like a director writing a book and reads more like an art department script than a book. The narrator was excellent and was the only thing that kept my attention and made it tolerable to get through. So props to them!