House Of Hunger

Alexis Henderson, Bantam Press, £16.99

Think “Dracula meets The Handmaid’s Tale” and you’ll have the measure of this dystopian Victorian story.

Impoverished Marion is on her journey from slums to splendour as a bloodmaid, but all is not as it seems in this seductive new world of gluttony and mystery.

Addictive and haunting, although not averse to cliché, this Sapphic tale explores wealth and class with vivid imagery and engaging storytelling.