The Tarot Reader of Versailles
19 February 2026Imprint: Manilla Press
Synopsis
'Utterly captivating. An engrossing, propulsive novel' Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites
'A gorgeously written, at times fantastical and deeply immersive novel' Molly Aitken, author of Bright I Burn
Two women. An extraordinary power. An explosive bond.
In a time of revolution, their fates will lie in the turn of a card . . .
It is the early days of the French Revolution and, on the streets of Paris, terror reigns.
Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand is a young woman with an extraordinary power - through her tarot cards, she can commune with the dead, revolutionaries and the aristocracy alike seeking her out to divine their fortunes. Lenormand is loyal to Marie Antoinette and the dauphin of France, but she has seen the queen's fate in the cards and must take care that it doesn't become her own.
Then, one fateful day, she comes across Cait, a scullery maid from Ireland who has travelled to Paris for love. Cait has powers too - she can read people's pasts as Lenormand reads their futures. The two young women share an electrifying connection, drawn to each other's abilities. But Cait is hiding something. What will she do - and who will she betray - to bring revolution to the shores of her beloved Ireland too?
Inspired by the astonishing true story of Marie-Anne Adelaide Lenormand, The Tarot Reader of Versailles is a sweeping, powerful novel where allegiances, betrayals and even fate itself can be forged or broken by the turn of a card . . .
*Selected as a Bookseller pick of the month*
'Readers who like their historical fiction laced with fantastical elements will enjoy this spirited tale' The Times
'[A] propulsive epic in the company of two extraordinary women' Daily Mail
'A complex, epic and engrossing tale' Caroline Lea, author of Love, Sex & Frankenstein
'I was totally swept up in this epic story of fate and betrayal, love and intrigue. Every twist left me reeling' Danielle Giles, author of Mere
'Thrilling, compelling and beautifully-woven' Aoife Fitzpatrick, author of The Red Bird Sings
'Feminist, fantastical and flawlessly imagined' Natasha Solomons
'Lush, lyrical and utterly captivating' Kim Curran, author of The Morrigan
'A gorgeously written, at times fantastical and deeply immersive novel' Molly Aitken, author of Bright I Burn
Two women. An extraordinary power. An explosive bond.
In a time of revolution, their fates will lie in the turn of a card . . .
It is the early days of the French Revolution and, on the streets of Paris, terror reigns.
Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand is a young woman with an extraordinary power - through her tarot cards, she can commune with the dead, revolutionaries and the aristocracy alike seeking her out to divine their fortunes. Lenormand is loyal to Marie Antoinette and the dauphin of France, but she has seen the queen's fate in the cards and must take care that it doesn't become her own.
Then, one fateful day, she comes across Cait, a scullery maid from Ireland who has travelled to Paris for love. Cait has powers too - she can read people's pasts as Lenormand reads their futures. The two young women share an electrifying connection, drawn to each other's abilities. But Cait is hiding something. What will she do - and who will she betray - to bring revolution to the shores of her beloved Ireland too?
Inspired by the astonishing true story of Marie-Anne Adelaide Lenormand, The Tarot Reader of Versailles is a sweeping, powerful novel where allegiances, betrayals and even fate itself can be forged or broken by the turn of a card . . .
*Selected as a Bookseller pick of the month*
'Readers who like their historical fiction laced with fantastical elements will enjoy this spirited tale' The Times
'[A] propulsive epic in the company of two extraordinary women' Daily Mail
'A complex, epic and engrossing tale' Caroline Lea, author of Love, Sex & Frankenstein
'I was totally swept up in this epic story of fate and betrayal, love and intrigue. Every twist left me reeling' Danielle Giles, author of Mere
'Thrilling, compelling and beautifully-woven' Aoife Fitzpatrick, author of The Red Bird Sings
'Feminist, fantastical and flawlessly imagined' Natasha Solomons
'Lush, lyrical and utterly captivating' Kim Curran, author of The Morrigan
Details
19 February 2026400 pages
9781786582607Imprint: Manilla Press
Reviews
The author of the dynamic The Witches Of Vardo heads onto the bloody streets of the French Revolution in this equally propulsive epic in the company of two extraordinary women . . . The prose is lush, the love stories beguiling, but Bergman doesn't shy away from the horror of the reign of terror and the harsh realities of change.Daily Mail
Marie Anne Lenormand can commune with the dead . . . [Caitlin] Molloy is also connected to spirits and gods, in her case old Irish ones. Molloy and Lenormand meet, and the gods collide. Readers who like their historical fiction laced with fantastical elements will enjoy this spirited tale.The Times
A complex, epic and engrossing tale, which is part emotive love story with a fantastical edge, part fascinating historical exploration of the French Revolution and part compulsive revenge story, which holds the reader captive throughout. . . . The voices of these two women who find themselves caught up in the heady and dangerous world of the Revolution are beautifully drawn.Caroline Lea, author of The Glass Woman and Love, Sex & Frankenstein
Utterly captivating. Anya Bergman's vivid depiction of revolutionary France, and the extraordinary women negotiating the vagaries of power, fortune and fate throughout such unrest and upheaval, held me in thrall from the first page to the last. An engrossing, propulsive novel.Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites
