The Love of a Bad Man - Softcover

‘The Love of a Bad Man is a rare combination of immense writing talent and wondrous imagination. You've never read a book quite like this one.’

‘Seductive and enthralling ... Woollett is a master of her craft. You won’t be able to put it down.’

‘A genuinely fresh reading experience ... we’re sure to hear a lot more from this talented writer in coming years.’ FOUR STARS

‘Compelling and powerful ... Woollett has inhabited the spirit of these various women in a manner both thought-provoking and touching.’

‘Woollett’s work in her female narrators’ interior lives, her in-depth research and deployment of detail and vernacular, combines to lend a frightening and compelling understanding to these women’s choices, and in some but not all cases, their coercion.’

‘Like Helen Garner, Laura Woollett is impelled to explore the darkest corners of the human heart, the savage cognitive distortions of love; to understand and empathise with the monstrous, rather than to instinctively recoil or judge ... Woollett's pitch-perfect command of narrative voice, period, and psychology creates 12 tales to fascinate and unnerve.’

‘An unusual and affecting reading experience, coupling true crime with literary fiction ... Laura Elizabeth Woollett is refreshing, challenging, and utterly unique and I’m already looking forward to her next achievement.’

‘The idea is intriguing and the execution goes well beyond expectation ... The Love of a Bad Man gives sophisticated insight, and is full of empathy and nuance for the people portrayed.’

‘The Love of a Bad Man imagines the inner lives of historical figures who committed crimes all in the name of love ... The stories treat death with a gothic inevitability and explore human darkness with a light touch.’

‘[Woollett’s] stories are beautifully written – poised and elegant.’