Queen Mab

'For readers seeking a book that will shake them, Queen Mab casts its eerie spell slowly, steadily deepening a spiral of misgivings and dread and changelings, until they are entirely entranced' Doireann Ní Ghríofa, author of Said the Dead A changeling child. A mother away with the fairies. Madeleine is in her early twenties when she conceives on the night of a full moon. Having the baby will mean putting her doctoral studies on hold. Yet from the first flutter of new life, she feels its lure. Then baby Maud arrives, sweet and tiny, worth every moment of a difficult labour. But when she is returned to Madeleine's arms, something feels wrong. The child won't stop crying. Her eyes glint with an ancient cunning. Could she be an imposter, switched while Madeleine wasn't watching? Meanwhile, the world carries on. Buses rumble through the city. Baristas steam milk. Alone in the crowd, Madeleine searches for a way to rid herself of this ravenous creature. On her walks with the pram, voices heckle from the hedgerows and mists unfurl across the pavement, beckoning her towards fairyland. Full of lingering magic and riveting menace, Queen Mab is the story of the most elemental forms of transformation, and one woman's path back to herself. 'Smart, unsettling and tender' Claudia Durastanti, author Strangers I Know 'Perfectly captures those psychedelic, feral postpartum days' Madeleine Watts, Elegy, Southwest 'Darkly funny and devastating' Rebecca Sarah Ley, author of Bad Fiction 'Brave and powerful' Samantha Hunt, author of The Dark Dark 'Strange and bold. It takes no prisoners' Claire Oshetsky, author of Chouette 'A spellbinding account of early motherhood' Lana BastaSic, author of Catch the Rabbit

Emily McBride is a Canadian-born editor, writer and translator living in Barcelona. Her work has been published in The Stinging Fly, The Nation and The Rumpus. Queen Mab is her debut novel.