A novel of exceptional vigour and originality * Sunday Times, 'the best historical fiction of 2025 - so far' * A fierce, feminist retelling of the French Folklore, Bluebeard . . . After years of researching seventeenth-century Bern, Isabelle has created a story that is historically adjacent to the period and place. She has intertwined fact and fiction to bring us this Early Modern historical fiction of mystery and vengeance * Gazette & Herald * It is inspired distantly by the Bluebeard legend, but outcreeps Angela Carters retelling of that famous myth. One of the most original books I have read in a long time -- Katherine Mezzacappa * Historical Novels Review, Issue 111 (February 2025) * If you crossed The Miniaturist with Promising Young Woman, you'd get The House of Barbary . . . a blazing feminist roar of a novel set in c17th Bern. Twists abound in this gripping tale: it's a thrilling, visceral follow-up to the very brilliant Lady MacBethad -- Naomi Kelsey A raw, visceral tale, Shakespearean in scope, that presents the difficult choices that await a young girl when she discovers the evil she has inherited along with her wealth. Set in seventeenth-century Switzerland, Schuler skilfully weaves a tale of the paradoxes inherent in a supposedly civilised city that maintains a literal bearpit at its centre. If you enjoyed Lady MacBethad, you will be obsessed with Beatrice Barbary -- Laura Shepperson I loved the dark, tangled web of intrigue and the intelligent, fiery Beatrice. As a fan of fairytales, I adored the echoing of Bluebeard and the historical detail brought the period and setting to life with such vivid beauty. A wonderful novel! -- Georgia Leighton Praise for Lady MacBethad: 'Suspenseful, atmospheric and full of twists and turns, I loved the brutal, backstabbing world that Isabelle Schuler conjures up where only the most ruthless can survive -- Jennifer Saint Praise for Lady MacBethad: Isabelle Schuler's Lady MacBethad achieves the unthinkable: transforming Shakespeare's wicked queen into an empathetic heroine' -- Laura Shepperson
