The Naked Light

Bridget Collins

• Publisher: The Borough Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN:
  9780008424077
  9780008800277
• eBook ISBN:
  9780008650988
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literature General
• Index: Literature

A village haunted by stories. Two women bound by a secret.

A haunting gothic tale of ancient darkness and a love that defies convention, from Sunday Times #1 bestseller Bridget Collins.

'At once a moving study of women's lives after the First World War, an exquisite love story and a terrifying folk horror. So beautifully written that I could hardly bear to stop reading, this is Bridget Collins at her beguiling best' EMILIA HART

'Bridget Collins' writing haunts my dreams' ERIN KELLY

'A spine-chillingly scary romance and a heartwarmingly romantic horror novel… I raced through it at breakneck speed even as I wished it would go on forever. Beautifully written, thrillingly imagined, and a joy on every page' SANDRA NEWMAN

'I honestly never thought another author could rival Sarah Waters… but I was wrong. I haven't read a historical novel quite as good as this in years!' LOUISE MORRISH

Watching over the village of Haltington is an ancient carving in the ground, known to locals simply as the Face. It was first etched into the chalk when lives were ruled by superstition and stories; by fear of the unknown, of the shadows.

For centuries, the inhabitants of Bone Cottage have tended to it. But now that the Great War has decimated the population of even this most isolated of places, the Face stands neglected and overgrown.

When enigmatic outsider Kit moves into the cottage, the villagers are suspicious of her androgynous appearance and bohemian ways. In defiance of their disapproval, the vicar's unmarried sister-in-law Florence finds herself inexplicably drawn to Kit, and the friendship that grows between them becomes a light in the dark for her.

But the Face calls things to it, and now Florence and Kit are in its path…

A haunting gothic tale of ancient darkness and a love that defies convention, from Sunday Times #1 bestseller Bridget Collins.

READERS ARE LOVING

'Oh my, this is just lovely reading… atmospheric and beautifully composed' ?????

'I love books by this author and think this could be her best thus far. Wow, what a read. It truly has a gothic horror feel about it, a slow creeping dread fills the book, and I loved it!' ?????

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Note to Readers
• Dedication
• Contents
• I Sketches for A Mask, pencil on paper, 1918
• II ‘Midwinter’: Study in Black, charcoal over pencil on paper, 1919
• III Deletions, pencil, ink and paint on paper, ragged margins, absent pages, 1920
• IV A Bottle of Light, oil on wood panel, 1920
• V Dahlias, oil on board, 1920
• VI Untitled (‘Nightmare’), pencil on paper, 1920
• VII Litlington Church (unfinished), oil on board, 1920
• VIII Sisters (I), diptych, oil on board, 1920–21
• IX Christmas Card, pen and ink on card, 1920
• X Victory to Love, oil on board, 1914 (artist’s dedication added 1920)
• XI Sisters (II), diptych, oil on board, 1920–21
• XII Studies for a Portrait of a Surplus Woman (abstractions), pencil and charcoal on paper, 1920–21
• XIII Single Flame, charcoal on paper, 1921
• XIV Further Studies for a Portrait of a Surplus Woman (abstractions), pencil and charcoal on paper, 1921
• XV Sketches, pencil on paper, 1921
• XVI The Widow, candle wax and spent matchsticks, 1921
• XVII Still Life: locket, mud (unfinished), charcoal on paper, 1921
• XVIII Landscape with Face, watercolour on paper, 1921
• XIX Journey at Night, charcoal on paper, 1921
• XX Girl, With Shadows, oil on board, 1921
• XXI The Bone House, Haltington, oil on board, 1921
• XXII High and Over, oil on board, 1925
• Acknowledgements
• Keep Reading
• Also by Bridget Collins
• About the Publisher