Some collections should never be catalogued...
London, 1889. Josiah Franklin, a seasoned auctioneer at Sowerby's & Sons, is sent to the decaying estate of Byard's Leap to appraise a most unusual consignment: a vast and unnerving collection of antique dolls.
Their owner, the widowed Mrs. Montague, lives alone in the crumbling house?surrounded by dust, memory, and silence. But the dolls were not hers. They belonged to her cousin Abigail, whose obsession with them spanned continents and decades. From Bengal to Haiti, from Japan to Zanzibar, each doll carries its own secret... and perhaps something more.
As Franklin begins his work, strange occurrences stir within the manor: footsteps in empty halls, whispers behind locked doors, and a flicker of movement in the abandoned east wing. What begins as a professional errand soon becomes a chilling encounter with guilt, madness, and the ghosts of Empire.
Told in evocative, immersive prose, The Dolls of Byard's Leap weaves together colonial history, gothic horror, and supernatural intrigue in a tale that will stay with you long after the last page is turned.
Rich with historical atmosphere and gothic suspense, The Dolls of Byard's Leap is a haunting mystery in the classic tradition?perfect for fans of M.R. James, Sarah Waters, and The Woman in Black.
