"I am no shy, God-fearing maiden. I am blood and bone, nerve and gristle. I am the sky and the fields, the mountain tops and the curving bay. I am alive and, in this moment, I fear nothing."

A dark and incredibly powerful read!

An incredible retelling of Giulia, a woman said to have poisioned thousands of men in the seventeenth century. She knew her destiny from birth she knew all along what her fate was in helping these women.

This is why I read this genre for books like this. A book that is thought-provoking and has a lasting effect.

To readers who have triggers, there are mentions of SA, torture, and mental and physical abuse in this book.

𝐀 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞 | 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐲𝐧 𝐊𝐞𝐦𝐩 | 𝟑.𝟕𝟓*

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭:
⟡ Historical fiction
⟡ Based on actual figures
⟡ Morally grey MC
⟡ 17th century Rome
⟡ Witchcraft

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
A Poisoners Tale is based on the real historical figure, Giulia Tofana, a woman who allegedly poisoned a thousand men. With that in mind and the self explanatory title, readers can be safe in the knowledge that a lot of murder and shady dealings happens between these pages.

Initially, this tale started building the foundation of a perfect vengeance story. And at the heart of it, this is a book about vengeance: vengeance against wrongdoings and oppressive systems. Whilst I admit that most of the time the vengeance was certainly warranted, towards the end I definitely began to feel that this was simply just serial killer territory. It wasn’t until the very end that I grasped a glaringly obvious theme: rebellion.

And my, was this rebellion riveting! This historical fiction was easy to read, and was a great way to kill time. The story was heavily researched, the setting felt congruent, the sisterhood felt strong, and the men were falling in droves. I recommend falling into this story with them.

𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬:
“𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 – 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵.”

“𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳. 𝘞𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯. 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦… 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

I could not get enough of this book. It was so devastatingly honest and distressing. It was well written and I shall certainly be watching out for any more fiction by Cathryn Kemp

This is such a powerful tale of women and sisterhood. The main character is relatable (if you can forget that she assists in so many deaths) and has had a harrowing life. The rapes are difficult to read but need to be there to explain why she acts in the way she does. A strong feminist story.

Earlier this year I read The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazolla, about an Italian 'witch' in the 1660s dealing in apothecary. It was based on a true story that I hadn't heard of. And then this book came along it seems to have had the same influence. How interesting that a story unheard of is adapted twice in the same year? And how lucky I am that I've been allowed to read and review them. I was a bit concerned that I would be forever comparing them, but apart frrom a couple of moments (mainly at the start), it read completely differently.

Cathryn has excelled at the research here. Everything is so meticulously written that I can only imagine the amount of research it took to tell as close to the truth as possible. Her storytelling is brilliant and has managed to find a new angle of the story.

Cathryn has created such an inviting (if not always pleasant) world for the reader to get lost in. You can feel everything around you, the people, the smells, the environment, the death; it's so rich.

A quick interlude- an applause for the cover please! I read an early digital copy but I am desperate to get a physical one just so I can have that gorgeous cover on my shelf.

What I really enjoyed was this sense of family, community, and longevity. This is a secret held by women and passed down the generations and through friends and strangers. This illegal practice that could find any number of them facing the noose is kept close to their hearts and it really brings the characters together.

I am really loving reading books with strong women during a period where women were to be seen and not heard, and to follow rules and b passive, especially in regards to men. And that's what Cathryn has given us here. Some women are more bold than others, but they all in their own way are strong, powerful women.

I did find it a little slow to begin with. Nothing majorly and it didn't impact my enjoyment of the book or my will to read on. But I'll just say it's very detail heavy at first which some like and some don't. But it doesn't last too long and then you're in. There are also a few places where it felt a little too rushed, but overall I think the pacing felt right.

There is a jump in time which I quite liked as it gave us a deeper narrative and a deeper look at the characters across the years. I know some people find it difficult to get their hands round that, but I thought it was a good narrative choice.

There are some unpleasant scenes, which is probably to be expected, and some bits I wasn't expecting. They can be hard to swallow and so I would just not that it isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and it's more than just poisoning. But I think the story as a whole benefits from these scenes. Cathryn hasn't hidden from the brutality of the time and the brutality of men (and some women) at the time.

It's mostly told in the first person present tense was a bit different for me. It's not something I've really paid attention to, but now I think of it, I do tend to read books written in the third person, and so it took me a while to fully get to grips with that narrative. I think there are pros and cons here. Pros because it really gives us that insider knowledge, the first hand feelings of the events. But by having it written from just that person's POV, do we really get enough from the other characters?

I initially thought this was a debut, but having done a quick Google, I don't think it is. But it does appear to be a debut historical novel. Either way, it is very well accomplished.

Having said all of that, this is a strong book full of great promise. Well written, generally well paced, interesting characters, great settings, layered narrative, so much detail and depth, impressive researching skills, and an interesting and fun book to get stuck into. Highly recommend for historical lovers.

In the Rome of 1656, women have very few choices and precious little power. One hidden apothecary shop offers them an opportunity to redress that unequal balance, to whatever small degree.

This is a dark and grim reimagining of the life of the notorious Italian poisoner, Giulia Tofana. The book is fascinating, but comes with trigger warnings about graphic violence, sexual assault and child abuse.

But if you have a strong stomach, this feminist interpretation of Tofana's life and actions may well be worth your time. It gets 3.5 stars.

A Poisoner's Tale by Cathryn Kemp is a moving and harrowing book which will stay with me for some time. A Poisoner's Tale is the first historical fiction novel written by Kemp and it is clear that she has a good understanding of the genre. The story is thoroughly researched and the extensive bibliography is testament to this.

The story is focused on Giulia Tofana (partly a real historical person) and her part in helping women escape from abusive marriages through the use of poison. The story is a real page turner and there is an air of tension throughout. It is not a light read and can be very dark in parts. Early on in the book, there are some graphic scenes of child rape and they were difficult to read. It would have been helpful for there to have been a warning of what was to come. However, I can see why some parts of the story were necessary and it aided the reader's understanding. Once the reader is past the unpleasant section, the book is hugely absorbing.

Kemp has really captured Giulia's mindset and the shades of grey regarding her decisions. The variety of women seeking Giulia's advice all have their own little interjections of their story and the reader is shown the abuse and lack of alternatives available to women in that patriarchal society. The book is a bit on the slow side but it didn't bother me too much. It did its job in allowing the reader to delve into Guilia's head and the setting. The story of a former victim turned powerful woman (though she was despised by many) was really interesting and thought provoking. I would have liked a stronger conclusion overall but it wasn't a huge problem.

I also enjoyed the relationships between the women and servants in the story. The only time the sisters in the house get to talk to each other. There's a warm sense of sisterhood here, in a setting where men rule over women and control every aspect of their lives. I loved Kemp's writing in these moments, showing the quiet strength and resilience of these women. It's fair to say that this isn't an easy book to read. The sisters all have their dreams crushed, and many of them are raped and murdered. So why did I still find the story compelling? Partly because of Kemp's beautiful, evocative prose and the rich historical setting she creates. But also because despite all the horror, it's an important book.

A Poisoner's Tale doesn't look away from the brutality of its time, and it made me consider the way we deal with abuse, and how the systems that are meant to protect victims have often failed them. This is a powerful, important book. However, it's definitely not for everyone. Kemp's debut historical fiction is impressive, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
Trigger warning: Child rape, abuse, graphic deaths.

Huge thanks to NetGalley & Random House for providing me with a digital ARC of this book. These are my own honest opinions.

I was very excited to read about Giulia Tofana as I have heard about her story in the past, so I was really intrigued by this book. I liked reading about her story, or more precisely, about how it could have been, and I really empathized with her and her mission, especially after what she went through during her childhood. I did however find some parts of the book to be slow, and at times I was not a big fan of the writing style, but this is a personal preference. I also wish there had been a TW about the SA bits on a minor, since I was not expecting them.
Nonetheless, I am very grateful to Random House UK for giving me the chance to read this book!

I really enjoyed this book and had never heard of Giulia before. What that poor woman went through was insane and you can definitely see how it shaped her hatred towards men who harm women.

Obviously, this is set in a time when the word "witch" was used to easily against women for literally no reason, so for Giulia to have been doing the things she was knowing the risk she faced was nothing sort of brave.

I generally enjoy books that are dark and include disturbing content, but I do feel that there are elements in this book that many would not be comfortable reading, such as the child abuse and rape, and that there should be a trigger warnings list at the front so readers know what they are getting themselves into.

Books that contain triggering matters should have a list of trigger warning at the blurb. Considering this is an arc platform the readers should be provided with a list so we don't requests books that we may find triggering.

As someone who didn't know anything about the fate of Gulia Tofona I had no expectations. Violence and death sure because which female tale doesn't include that but what I wasn't expecting was child rape and no I'm not going to read something that includes this or at least it could have been written with very little detail.

BIG TW: CHILD RAPE, VIOLENCE TOWARDS CHILD

When you start a book such as this know, knowing what happened to the 'real' Giula Tofana, you understand you'll be reading harsh things as she was hanged, and you expect not joyous stuff. However, it's a thing to expect death of the main character, it's another thing to get into a book where the first 1/3 of it is based on the MC being 12~14 years old ; where it's showing (on page!!) the rapes she suffered at that age, the violence.

So it's pretty hard to say you're enjoying a book when you read such things.
It's not a book you can say you're enjoying.
However, I could say it fascinated me once we got Giulia as an adult.

It was (very) slow, but the way Giulia was thinking was interesting, fascinating. The multiple reasons that made her do everything she did. The different women asking for her help, may it be the acqua or regular care.

I feel like it was a good interpretation of Giulia Tofana's "legend". But the shock to have read such dark and violent things at the beginning of the book truly balance my final notation, because nowhere it's said we start with her at 12 years old, nowhere we're told we're going to read such things - I would have liked a TW at the beginning of the book, or the blurb.
En soit j'ai trouvé que c'était une bonne interprétation de cette "légende" de Giulia Tofana. Mais le choc d'avoir lu ces horreurs au début a énormément joué sur ma note, car rien ne dit qu'on commence avec elle à 12 ans, rien nous dit qu'on va lire ces horreurs - j'aurais aimé un TW en début de livre, ou dans le résumé.

We support women’s wrongs.
All of us wearing our own noose, now slack, now heavy around our necks.
The Foul Sorceress Giovanna. The Treacherous Witch Graziosa. The Most Wicked Temptress Maria. The Devil's Whore Girolama. Then me, the Poisoner of Palermo. The woman who started it all.

Giulia learnt the art of healing and poisoning from her mother, passed down from her mother. They make something that frees women from bad marriages, or from men who hurt them in a world where no woman is free but bound to men like chattel.
However, this could lead to allegations of ‘witch’ leading to a sure way to execution.

I wonder if we are always waiting: a woman's lot to be forever existing in the gaps, the pauses between the acts of men.

This is an empowering, gripping, feminist story full of righteous anger, injustice, and control.
Kempf knows how to lead readers to all the right emotions, using strong evocative prose that grips your heart.

Interestingly, this also has a time jump of 23 years, as well as a location change. This works to show how different circumstances still see women degraded and labeled out of fear to keep the dominant in power.

As men strut and preen, we make do with what we can, mere supporting players in the theatre of life. But what they don't know is what grows in the darkness backstage; the fraternity of women, the collusion of female-hood, the kindred understanding that blooms away from the harsh gaze of men.

Unbeknownst to me, this book is based on the legend of Giulia Tofana, a woman said to have poisoned a thousand men in seventeenth-century Palermo, Naples and Rome.

There’s a lot of Catholic-bashing and even another perspective which contains flagellation and utter devotion to his order and God.

If you enjoyed The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo, I would recommend this!

Thank you to Penguin Random House for providing the physical arc in exchange for a review!

I'll start with a little complaint: this was one of those NetGalley ARCs (from Random House) that kept crashing my Kindle. This happens occasionally. You'll take a pause in reading, shut the Kindle down, but then when you go back to it, it will restart itself. Sometime more than once. And lose your place in the book.

To the book then, which is from an author I didn't know, who has mainly been involved in ghost writing memoirs. This title attracted me because it's a slice of historical fiction, set in 17th century Sicily and Rome, and it tells the fictionalised story of a legendary poisoner. Giulia Tofana was said to be behind the poisonings of hundreds of men — as was her mother before her.

The front cover follows the current trend of tangled vegetation, with a similar vibe to books like The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly or The Puzzle Wood by Rosie Andrews or The Dark Between the Trees by Fiona Barnett. But this is no tangled mystery or gothic romance. It's a tale fairly straightforwardly told all the way to its foregone conclusion (which is telegraphed in the opening). There are two point of view characters: Giulia herself, and Pope Alessandro VII, who has his inquisitors on the hunt.

The author sets out to tell Giulia's story sympathetically, suggesting along the way that in a patriarchal world that denies people rights (like the right to divorce), many women turned to poison because being a widow was preferable to being abused and beaten. Meanwhile, Alessandro represents the patriarchy and its twisted view of women as objects of desire and vessels of sin.

The narrative is told mainly in the present tense, which I am not a fan of. I suppose this was a decision made because it's also a first person narrative, and Giulia would not be in a position to be what Genette termed a subsequent narrator. Who knows? Telling doesn't have to take time. Giulia being in the present tense puts the Pope in the present tense, too, apart from when he's writing letters — which makes some of his sections Genette's fourth type, the interpolated narration.

Anyway, as you can probably tell, I found it distracting.

Apart from that, this is well written and researched, and straightforward to read. It should appeal to fans of historical fiction and to anyone interested in the women's history. And serial killers?

A Poisoner’s Tale is the powerful story of Giulia, a seventeenth century woman who’s innocence is stolen from her and so many other women during a time of the Catholic Inquisition and women who have their choices, and lives similarly stolen by the men in their lives. It is based on the legend of Giulia Tofana, a woman who gave hundreds of women across Italy the ‘cure’ to end miserable marriages that they could not escape via any other means.

There’s strong female relationships, love for friends who become family, and danger of discovery dogging their every step. It is historical fiction that doesn’t shy away from baring the grim realities of murder, and the abuse of patriarchy during a time I would not have wanted to be a woman. As such there were moments that I disliked, others where my heart broke, and more still where I was conflicted.

It was well written and I shall certainly be watching out for any more fiction by Cathryn Kemp (who is also a ghost writer and has written many previous books). I did have one complaint, in that of the 5 most present women in the story 4 of their names began with G and in the scenes where they all were this was somewhat awkward to try to remember who was which.

Trigger Warnings; child abuse, rape, violence, and of course depictions of death in various ways.

I was given a digital copy of this book by NetGalley, and these are my own opinions.

I loved this book! I was so excited when “A Poisoner’s Tale” was announced, because Giulia Teofania is one the most fascinating historical figures of Italian culture. She was a prolific serial killer who lived between the first and the second half of the 17th century, and whom sold her famous “acqua tofana” in cities like Palermo, Naples and Rome. Her acqua was a lethal poison that Giulia gave to other women, to help them escape unwanted marriages, violent husbands, rivals and enemies. I think that “A Poisoner’s Tale” gave to her story justice.

As an Italian myself, I enjoyed finding in the book terms and sayings that belongs to the Italian culture. I also really appreciated the author’s note, in which Cathryn Kemp quotes her sources. In general, while reading I could feel that the author had a solid foundation with her studies.

The prose is quite frank and realistic. To those who could find violence as a triggering element (such as torture, sexual and mental abuse, child abuse), I suggest to search for a more detailed list of the trigger warnings.

I liked that, even though this is Giulia’s story, there was a focus on Pope Alessandro VII’s point of view. It was interesting to see how differently the inquisitor and “witch” viewed the world. And I can’t not mention the way sisterhood was portrayed. Seeing women of different backgrounds and with different stories work together was beautiful and empowering. I loved Giulia relationship with her mother and with her daughter, but also the one with her accomplices.

“A Poisoner’s Tale” is a book for those who loved “The Manningtree Witches”, by A.K. Blakemore. Both stories tell the life of extraordinary women condemned by the society for being independent, free, clever and ambitious.

I won’t give to the book 5 stars only because there were some narrative choices that I found quite anticlimactic in some point (for example, there were parts during the story that felt too rushed).

I was sent an ARC from Netgalley and Rabdom House UK in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book wasn't my cup of tea. I liked the premise and the cover but when I started the book I just couldn't find a way into the story or a way with the characters. Usually I'm all in for anything witchy and a feminist story but this one didn't do it for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

My very first ARC!

A poignant and tragic story highlighting the suppression, prejudice and violence that women have experienced throughout history, and how we often only have each other to lean on. A moving debut novel.

I thought this would be an interesting story set in Italy in the Middle Ages and following the journey of a persecuted witch. Although the main character is strong-willed, her narrative voice was bitter and complaining and the start of the book at least (DNF at 25%) featured a lot of horrific child abuse. I just couldn’t bring myself to continue the torture of reading - there was no hope to be found for the poor young witch and I could not see it getting any better or becoming interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review and letting me give it a try.

I could not get enough of this book. It was so devastatingly honest and distressing. The experience of women throughout history is littered with tragedy, and this period is no different.

The tragic life of all the women involved in the story really stuck with me. The way a single decision sealed their fates will haunt me. The attitude and acceptance of death left me with chills. The final chapters were poignant and beautiful.

The saving grace as always was the love between family and friends.

A beautiful read.

This was a very interesting read, I really enjoyed seeing woman shown with this hidden power in a time that ignored them.