Join me as I talk to Paul Magrs about his wonderfully humorous series of novels, The Brenda and Effie Mysteries.

Paul also has his own youtube channel which you can find here.

If you would like to meet Paul in person, and find out more about his literary connection to Whitby and the world of Brenda and Effie, he’ll be appearing at the Whitby Book Festival this coming November.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit essiefox.substack.com

I’m delighted to be posting Episode 3 of Talking the Gothic. Discussing Animals, & Wolves, I’m joined by Michael Stewart as we probe into the themes of his novel, Black Wood Women.

As an award winning author Michael has written four novels, two short story collections, and many plays for radio. He is now a director of the Bronte Writing Centre, based at the parsonage in Haworth, where other writers can join in the courses he creates and be immersed in the world where the Brontes lived and worked.

Today’s Talking the Gothic has been recorded on Emily Bronte’s 207th birthday - so listen out for a tribute to her writing from Michael at the end of the show.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit essiefox.substack.com

Join me in episode 2 of Talking the Gothic as I explore the general background to architecture in gothic literature, before focussing more deeply on the house that is described in the historical novel Fyneshade by the author Kate Griffin.

With links to Jane Eyre and The Turn of the Screw this is a fascinating story with many knowing nods to the genre of the gothic.

What is your favourite fictional (or real life) gothic building?

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit essiefox.substack.com

Essie Fox takes a deep dive into what’s generally acclaimed as the first English Gothic novel - Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto. Essie is also joined by Dr Tim Rideout as they discuss the novel’s themes and their obsession with The Gothic.

Tim Rideout is the author of Gothic Precarity, published by the University of Wales Press in September 2025.

Essie Fox is the Sunday Times Best Selling author of six historical gothic novels. To learn more about her books visit her author website

.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit essiefox.substack.com