The Child Cephalina

Rebecca Lloyd’s superb Gothic novel  explores friendship, obsession and the uncanny in teeming mid-Victorian London. At its heart is a tale of human relationships threatened by an unknowable force.

From the very first, the child Cephalina brought conflict into the otherwise peaceful, if eccentric, household at number 12 Judd Street. Robert’s fascination with her was instant, but he could never decide if this eleven-year-old was innocent and lonely, or clever and manipulative. It worried him. His encounters with her were both enchanting and unnerving. All the while his devotion to her was growing, until in the end, nothing could save him from a fate he would never have believed could be his . . .

Much of Rebecca Lloyd’s work is in the literary horror and Gothic genres, including The Bellboy, a novella (Zagava 2018), and Seven Strange Stories, (Tartarus Press 2017). Her other story collections include Ragman and Other Family Curses, (Egaeus Press 2016), Mercy and Other Stories, (Tartarus Press 2014), and The View from Endless Street, (WiDo Publishing 2014). Recent literary awards in which she has been acknowledged include The World Fantasy Award, The Aestas Short Story Prize, and the Paul Bowles Short Fiction Award. Some of her stories have been reprinted in Best British Horror, (Salt Publishing), Best New Horror, (PS Publishing), and in recent volumes of Best Horror of the Year.

Limited to 300 copies