The Silent Companions, Laura Purcell
The Silent Companions, Laura Purcell
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The Silent Companions

Author: Laura Purcell

Narrator: Katie Scarfe

Unabridged: 10 hr 53 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/20/2025

Synopsis

Some doors are locked for a reason.When Elsie married handsome young heir Rupert Bainbridge, she believed she was destined for a life of luxury. But pregnant and widowed just weeks after their wedding, with her new servants resentful and the local villagers actively hostile, Elsie has only her late husband’s awkward cousin for company. Or so she thinks. Inside her new home lies a locked door, beyond which is a painted wooden figure—a silent companion—that bears a striking resemblance to Elsie herself. The residents of the estate are terrified of the figure, but Elsie tries to shrug this off as simple superstition—that is, until she notices the figure’s eyes following her. A Victorian ghost story that evokes a most unsettling kind of fear, The Silent Companions is a tale that creeps its way through the consciousness in ways you least expect—much like the companions themselves.

About Laura Purcell

Laura Purcell worked in local government, the financial industry, and a bookshop before becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Colchester, the oldest recorded town in England, with her husband and pet guinea pigs. The Silent Companions was a Radio 2 and Zoe Ball ITV Book Club pick, and her novel The Shape of Darkness won the inaugural Fingerprint Award for Historical Crime Book of the Year. Her short stories have been included in The Haunting Season and The Winter Spirits anthologies, which were both instant Sunday Times bestsellers. Her novel The Whispering Muse was the 2023 winner of The Dracula Society’s Children of the Night Award. 

About Katie Scarfe

Katie Scarfe is a voice talent, audiobook narrator, and winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award.

Reviews

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Quotes

“[An] extraordinary, memorable, and truly haunting book.” Jojo Moyes, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Purcell crafts a virtually flawless work of Gothic fiction with this deeply atmospheric, foreboding story…Her novel is reminiscent of the work of all the greats, particularly Shirley Jackson and Daphne du Maurier, but Purcell has a style all her own. A must for all lovers of Gothic literature.” Library Journal (starred review)

“An atmospheric, eerie Victorian gothic novel…its combustible tale of a nineteenth-century woman tormented by an English country house’s creepy curios does produce sparks.” Publishers Weekly 

“This perfect fireside read combines all the best characteristics of the gothic genre.” Booklist

“Immersive, meticulous, and reminiscent of the masters of gothic fiction—not only a compulsively readable ghost story, but a skillful, loving ode to the entire genre.” Lyndsay Faye, bestselling author of Jane Steele 

“The chill of The Silent Companions sneaks up on you and then settles in like a gray mist on a British moor…A shivery treat.” BookPage 

“Purcell has all the finest ingredients of the gothic tradition…Reminiscent of Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black and even du Maurier’s Rebecca, The Silent Companions will chill readers who fall under its spell.”  Shelf Awareness

“Layering on the dark and creepy, this intriguingly plotted novel is the full-blown Gothic, maintaining throughout an unsettling claustrophobic atmosphere mixed with some unusual historical detail.” Daily Mail (UK) 

“A perfect read for a winter night…An intriguing, nuanced, and genuinely eerie slice of Victorian gothic.” The Guardian 

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