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Pale Mistress
- Author
- Naomi Kelsey
- Narrator
- Isabella Inchbald
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 16 July 2026
- Run Time
- 12 hours 20 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
“Let heaven and men and devils, let them all, all, cry shame against me, yet I’ll speak…”
Cyprus, 16th century. Murder, lies and vengeance has left lovers dead, promises broken and no one to trust. Only one woman survives, Bianca.
The slain? History knows their names: Emilia, Desdemona, Othello.
But why do we not know Bianca? Who was the pale mistress? Liar or lied to? Instigator or victim? In telling one woman’s story, Naomi Kelsey dazzlingly recasts a Shakespearean tragedy as a psychological thriller of jealousy and gaslighting, ambition and envy, and the making and breaking of one of Shakespeare’s most notorious villains, Iago.
PRAISE FOR PALE MISTRESS
‘A bold and beautiful triumph. In prose as rich as Cyprus wine and as sharp as a Venetian blade, Naomi Kelsey gives voice to the silenced and reshapes tragedy through a woman's eyes. Lyrical, haunting, and breathtakingly tense, this is historical fiction at its most electrifying.’ SETH INSUA, author of Human, Animal
'Once again, Naomi Kelsey bestows us with a thrilling and infuriating story of love, lies and betrayal. An utterly convincing addition to Shakespeare's Othello.' ELLE MACHRAY, author of Havisham
'Naomi Kelsey continues to cement her position as one of the most accomplished and empathetic writers of historical fiction.' LAURA SHEPPERSON, author of The Heroines
Critics Review
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PRAISE FOR PALE MISTRESS
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‘A bold and beautiful triumph. In prose as rich as Cyprus wine and as sharp as a Venetian blade, Naomi Kelsey gives voice to the silenced and reshapes tragedy through a woman's eyes. Lyrical, haunting, and breathtakingly tense, this is historical fiction at its most electrifying.’ SETH INSUA, author of Human, Animal
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'Once again, Naomi Kelsey bestows us with a thrilling and infuriating story of love, lies and betrayal. An utterly convincing addition to Shakespeare's Othello.' ELLE MACHRAY, author of Havisham
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'Naomi Kelsey continues to cement her position as one of the most accomplished and empathetic writers of historical fiction.' LAURA SHEPPERSON, author of The Heroines
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PRAISE FOR THE DARKENING GLOBE
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‘Deliciously gothic and twisty, Naomi Kelsey has crafted a deeply haunted mystery novel that I found impossible to put down.’ LUCY ROSE, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lamb
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‘An Elizabethan psychological thriller – who could ask for more? Confident, vividly imagined, infused with historical detail and riven by dramatic tension’ ANNIE GARTHWAITE, author of Cecily
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'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
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‘I could not put it down until every secret was exposed.' LAURA SHEPPERSON, author of The Heir of Venus
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‘A refreshingly new take on gothic.' KATE GRIFFIN, author of Fyneshade and The Blackbirds of St Giles
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***
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PRAISE FOR THE BURNINGS
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‘I was mesmerised’ LAURA SHEPPERSON, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Heroines
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‘A beautifully written re-imagining … clever and tantalising’ SG MACLEAN
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‘This gripping, vividly evoked novel takes the reader to the dark heart of the 16th century … unforgettable’ TRACY BORMAN
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Naomi Kelsey
- Narrator
- Isabella Inchbald
- Duration
- 12 hours 20 minutes
- Release Date
- 16 July 2026
- ISBN
- 9780008803780
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Historical fiction, Traditional or cultural fiction and true stories, tales and retellings, Fiction: inspired by or adapted from other media, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Narrative theme: interior life / psychological fiction, Psychological thriller
Synopsis
“Let heaven and men and devils, let them all, all, cry shame against me, yet I’ll speak…” Cyprus, 16th century. Murder, lies and vengeance has left lovers dead, promises broken and no one to trust. Only one woman survives, Bianca. The slain? History knows their names: Emilia, Desdemona, Othello. But why do we not know Bianca? Who was the pale mistress? Liar or lied to? Instigator or victim? In telling one woman’s story, Naomi Kelsey dazzlingly recasts a Shakespearean tragedy as a psychological thriller of jealousy and gaslighting, ambition and envy, and the making and breaking of one of Shakespeare’s most notorious villains, Iago. PRAISE FOR PALE MISTRESS ‘A bold and beautiful triumph. In prose as rich as Cyprus wine and as sharp as a Venetian blade, Naomi Kelsey gives voice to the silenced and reshapes tragedy through a woman's eyes. Lyrical, haunting, and breathtakingly tense, this is historical fiction at its most electrifying.’ SETH INSUA, author of Human, Animal 'Once again, Naomi Kelsey bestows us with a thrilling and infuriating story of love, lies and betrayal. An utterly convincing addition to Shakespeare's Othello.' ELLE MACHRAY, author of Havisham 'Naomi Kelsey continues to cement her position as one of the most accomplished and empathetic writers of historical fiction.' LAURA SHEPPERSON, author of The Heroines
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