A Great and Terrible Beauty: Summary and book reviews of A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, plus links to an excerpt from A Great and Terrible Beauty and a biography of Libba Bray.

It's 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma's reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she's been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence's most powerful girls—and their foray into the spiritual world—lead to?

Media Reviews

Kirkus Reviews Mysterious continued visions, dark family secrets, and a long-lost diary thrust Gemma and her classmates back into the horrors that followed her from India. A Gothic touched by modern conceptions of adolescence, shivery with both passion and terror. (Fiction. YA)   Publishers Weekly While aimed at female readers, it will be just as delectable to boys brave enough to be seen carrying a book sporting a corset-clad girl on the cover. The pace is swift, the finale gripping. A delicious, elegant gothic. Ages 12-up.   Booklist - Stephanie Zvirin Gr. 8-12. The Realms and the mystery surrounding the diary are less well handled, yet there's no doubt the mystical elements, along with a touch of forbidden romance, will draw a large, enthusiastic audience, who will come away wanting more about stubborn, willful Gemma and the strange world whose doors she can open at will.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by SIVER
Awesome
I just learned English and this book makes the language sound so much fun. I feel like I am gemma doyle.

Rated of 5 by em
Fantastic series
This trilogy is my absolute favourite. I would recommend it for anyone aged 13 and up. These books are well-written, intriguing, captivating and suspenseful. They will leave you wanting more. Bray meticulously describes both setting and character,...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Angelina
Ehhh!! :(
I personally did not think this book was all that great as everyone said it was going to be. It was really boring in the beginning and I guess it got better towards the end, but I definitely disagree with all those reviews about this book being...   Read More

Rated of 5 by M
Opinion
I think that this book series is wonderful and intriguing. I LOVE it!! Even though I have read the entire trilogy and know how the story ends I can always re-read the books. All of the characters were so enchanting and leaped off the pages....   Read More

Rated of 5 by stasa
AMAZING!!!!!!
This was was amazing!! I personally am not a big fan of fiction, but I did not want to put this book down. There were many things that I was not expecting! This book is definitely a page turner. And it leaves you wanting more.

Rated of 5 by Aimee
Best Book Ever (Excluding Twilight)
I've never read a book so compelling - it drags you in! I could barely stop reading until I had finished, I can't wait to read Rebel Angels and have high expectations. This a 11/10 star book!

...59 More Reader Reviews

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Books with similar themes

• Gothic
  
• Young Adults
  
• UK (Britain) & Ireland 
  
• 19th Century 
  
• 1st Books/1st Novels 
  
• Strong Female Leads 
  
• Magical or Supernatural Elements