This is the first book I've read that is written by Angela Carter. It tells the story of an orphan stuggling with the male relatives in her life, her budding sexuality and her own identity. There are definite parallels between this book and the gothic novels we read in class, for example, Dracula. Even though we are told it is set in the 1950s, I felt that it was the Victorian era. Maybe it was the misogyny and Aunt Margaret's silence, but it didn't feel like the booming 50s to me. Not to mention the underlying current of incest that goes on in the book.

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