Our Lady of Pain

The novels of John Blackburn are legendary, and Centipede Press now presents Our Lady of Pain, one of Blackburn’s most tightly plotted novels, in a new edition with an introduction by British novelist Stephen Laws. Combine this order with the fifth in the series, For Fear of Little Men. 

The tale of Elizabeth Bathory is one drenched in blood and talked about in terrified whispers hundreds of years after the fact. Now, something old and evil has arisen to stalk England. Three hardened criminals are driven mad and die horribly. Reporter Harry Clay finds evidence of a horrible link between these deaths, an aging actress with a vicious hatred of her critics, and a doctor who possibly mutilates his patients in mad experiments. 

In this Blackburn novel, possibly his grimmest, there’s no hyper-competent General Kirk to set matters right, only one terrified man who somehow suspects that when the curtain finally goes up on Our Lady of Pain, a play about the horrible Bathory, there will be a blood bath like none other. Trust us, this is one you don’t want to miss. 

Centipede Press is proud to release this sixth volume in their series of John F. Blackburn’s greatest works. Originally published in 1974, Our Lady of Pain is one of Blackburn’s most terrifying and unrelenting novels and is now presented in a handsome hardcover format. 

Edition Specifications

• Limited to 200 copies, each signed by Stephen Laws and Gahan Wilson.
• Family-approved facsimile signature by JohnBlackburn.
• New introduction by Stephen Laws.
• Gorgeous patterned endpapers.
• Full Dutch cloth with blind stamping on front board.
• Ribbon marker, head and tail bands.
• Bonus short story, “Jenny Cut-Throat.”