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Published Jul 2017
576 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
Respectable Lady Seeks Dependable Shop Girl. Those averse to magic need not apply.
New York in the spring of 1880 is a place alive with wonder and curiosity. Determined to learn the truth about the world, its residents enthusiastically engage in both scientific experimentation and spiritualist pursuits. Séances are the entertainment of choice in exclusive social circles, and many enterprising women - some possessed of true intuitive powers, and some gifted with the art of performance - find work as mediums.
Enter Adelaide Thom and Eleanor St. Clair. At their humble teashop, Tea and Sympathy, they provide a place for whispered confessions, secret cures, and spiritual assignations for a select society of ladies, who speak the right words and ask the right questions. But the profile of Tea and Sympathy is about to change with the fortuitous arrival of Beatrice Dunn.
When seventeen-year-old Beatrice leaves the safety of her village to answer an ad that reads "Respectable Lady Seeks Dependable Shop Girl. Those averse to magic need not apply," she has little inclination of what the job will demand of her. Beatrice doesn't know it yet, but she is no ordinary small-town girl; she has great spiritual gifts - ones that will serve as her greatest asset and also place her in grave danger. Under the tutelage of Adelaide and Eleanor, Beatrice comes to harness many of her powers, but not even they can prepare her for the evils lurking in the darkest corners of the city or the courage it will take to face them.
"Starred Review. McKay's elegant prose bridges the gap between the real world and the spiritual realm with skill and compassion." - Kirkus
"Starred Review. McKay seamlessly combines several plots and juggles a large cast with grace. Skillful worldbuilding, fascinating characters, and a suspenseful plot make McKay's novel an enchanting, can't-put-down delight. The door is left open for a sequel, and readers will hope McKay takes Adelaide, Eleanor, and Beatrice on further adventures of witchery and self-determination." - Publishers Weekly
"Wonderfully wicked and deliciously dark, The Witches of New York had me totally spellbound. Reminiscent of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Ami McKay has written a book brimming with atmosphere, intrigue, and a cast of mesmerising characters. I loved it." - Hazel Gaynor, author of The Girl Who Came Home)
"Skillfully written, peopled with refreshingly authentic female characters and hurtling forward at a furious pace, McKay delivers that most precious of all experiences to discerning readers - a refuge of intelligence, insight, and genuine invention. Easily one of my favorite books of the year." - Kathleen Tessaro, author of Rare Objects and The Perfume Collector
"The layering of narratives and styles is lively, and the multiple characters' pasts are especially absorbing… Society types straight out of Edith Wharton pursue spiritualism for fun… but McKay widens her scope with grimier episodes…She has a nose for the Dickensian." - Globe and Mail (Canada)
"The novel unfolds with a hurtling intensity. But McKay doesn't let the compulsive momentum interfere with her deeper explorations of her characters ... One cannot help but want to spend more time in the company of these witches." - National Post (Canada)
"The book is richly researched, and packed with enticing historical detail. McKay's prose is, as always, superb - the descriptions enchanting, the narrative arcs compelling, the characters dear (or deliciously sinister, as the case may be). But it is the emotion of the novel that lingers longest, the pervading horror over the persecution of women - and what this persecution has done to repress women's talents, impede their progress and stamp out their voices." - Toronto Star (Canada)
"McKay's seductive novel unfurls slowly amidst a miasma of menace, mischief, mystery and mesmerising magic…. A clever, compelling story of determined, independent women fighting for a place in a man's world of chauvinism, oppression and prejudice." - Lancashire Post (UK)
"Boasting a set of core characters that are perfectly realised… The Witches of New York is a compelling, fast paced read... [McKay's research] shows particularly strongly in the strength of the link she makes between accusations of witchcraft, and their associated punishments, and a deeply ingrained, often religiously driven, sexism." - AU Review (Australia)
This information about The Witches of New York was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Ami McKay's debut novel, The Birth House was a # 1 bestseller in Canada, winner of three CBA Libris Awards, nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and a book club favourite around the world. Her novel, The Virgin Cure, is inspired by the life of her great-great-grandmother, Dr. Sarah Fonda Mackintosh, a female physician in nineteenth century New York. Born and raised in Indiana, Ami now lives in Nova Scotia.
Author Interview
Link to Ami McKay's Website
Name Pronunciation
Ami McKay: (like Amy)
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