A Fatal Choice: A haunting novel about power, silence and the devastating cost of respectability

By Alison Baxter

In Victorian England, propriety was everything. But truth was often the price.

Three women bound by duty, class and expectation find their lives intertwined within the confines of a seemingly respectable household.

Julia Pennefather has spent her life longing for the security of a home and family. Ellen Fugill knows the price of loyalty in a world where servants are expected to see everything and say nothing. And talented Ada Ashley arrives concealing a secret past that makes her painfully vulnerable.

When disaster strikes, the women do not confront the truth but deny it. Stifling the voice of conscience, they each make choices shaped by fear, love and the limits placed on them by Victorian convention. Choices that cannot be undone.

As the consequences ripple through their lives, the cost of silence becomes impossible to ignore. In a society that offers women few options, and even fewer protections, survival depends on endurance. But sometimes that is not enough.

A richly atmospheric historical novel, A Fatal Choice explores the ways that women both support and betray each other, perfect for readers of Jessie Burton and Sarah Waters.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 191770593X
• ISBN13: 9781917705936
• Release Date: May 2026
• Publisher: Bloodhound Books
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"