The Naked Light

‘At once a moving study of women’s lives after the First World War, an exquisite love story and a terrifying folk horror. So beautifully written that I could hardly bear to stop reading, this is Bridget Collins at her beguiling best’ EMILIA HART, author of WEYWARD

‘This haunting story brims with atmosphere’ PRIMA

‘Bridget Collins’ writing haunts my dreams’ ERIN KELLY

‘Sublime and terrifying at the same time, sad, sometimes shocking, always utterly gripping’ ROSIE ANDREWS, author of THE LEVIATHAN

‘What a treat this was! Bridget Collins’ The Naked Light really does have everything – fantasy, folk horror, romance, history – as well as singing prose and fully-realised characters whose stories are interwoven with the landscape and the unfolding nightmare of the first World War. A book that feels at once wonderfully original and yet searingly timely, this is Collins at her very best’ C.J. COOKE

‘A spine-chillingly scary romance and a heartwarmingly romantic horror novel, with serious things to say about how the trauma of war spreads beyond those who fight it to those who try to help them, those who miss their help and companionship, and those who deal with the violence they bring back with them from the front. It has genuinely frightening monsters (not the least of which is war itself) and heroines whose love story is profoundly affecting because it’s so real. I raced through it at breakneck speed even as I wished it would go on forever. Beautifully written, thrillingly imagined, and a joy on every page’ SANDRA NEWMAN, author of JULIA

‘I honestly never thought another author could rival Sarah Waters in terms of plot and quality and characterisation, but I was wrong. Bridget Collins’ new book is every bit as good as Waters’ best. The Naked Light was utterly beguiling, heart-shatteringly emotional, and will stay with me for a very, very long time. Hand on heart, I haven’t read a historical novel quite as good as this for years!’ LOUISE MORRISH, author of WOMEN OF WAR

Bridget Collins trained as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art after reading English at King’s College, Cambridge. She is the author of seven acclaimed books for young adults and has had two plays produced, one at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The Binding is her first adult novel.