The Mad Women's Ball - Victoria Mas

'A darkly sumptuous tale of wicked spectacle, wild injustice and the insuppressible strength of women' EMMA STONEX, author of THE LAMPLIGHTERS

'In this darkly delightful Gothic treasure, Mas explores grief, trauma and sisterhood behind the walls of Paris' infamous Salpetriere hospital' PAULA HAWKINS, author of A SLOW FIRE BURNING

'A beautifully written debut...I have absolutely no doubt it will be one of my favourite novels of 2021.' AJ PEARCE, author of DEAR MRS BIRD

The Salptrire asylum, 1885. All of Paris is in thrall to Doctor Charcot and his displays of hypnotism on women who have been deemed mad or hysterical, outcasts from society. But the truth is much more complicated - for these women are often simply inconvenient, unwanted wives or strong-willed daughters. Once a year a grand ball is held at the hospital. For the Parisian elite, the Mad Women's Ball is the highlight of the social season; for the women themselves, it is a rare moment of hope.


Genevive is a senior nurse. After the childhood death of her sister, she has shunned religion and placed her faith in Doctor Charcot and his new science. But everything begins to change when she meets Eugnie, the 19-year-old daughter of a bourgeois family. Because Eugnie has a secret, and she needs Genevive's help. Their fates will collide on the night of the Mad Women's Ball...

'Essential reading' COSMOPOLITAN

'A deftly woven tale of hope and pain, judgement and redemption, cruelty and kindness. Utterly captivating and profoundly affecting.' Sunday Times bestseller, MIRANDA DICKENSON

'Enter the dance of this little masterpiece and let yourself be dazzled. Assured of hitting the bestseller lists' THE PARISIAN

'A lovely, moving first novel, a cri de coeur against the condition of women in this world' MARIE FRANCE

'The Mad Women's Ball is as lush on the inside as it is on the outside! It's richly immersive, taking us right into the heart of nineteenth-century Paris.' SHELLEY HARRIS, author of the Sunday Times bestseller JUBILEE