Pale Mistress : Lover. Courtesan. Survivor. by Naomi Kelsey

“Let heaven and men and devils, let them all, all, cry shame against me, yet I’ll speak…” Cyprus, 16th century. Murder, lies and vengeance has left lovers dead, promises broken and no one to trust. Only one woman survives, Bianca.

The slain? History knows their names: Emilia, Desdemona, Othello. But why do we not know Bianca? Who was the pale mistress? Liar or lied to? Instigator or victim? In telling one woman’s story, Naomi Kelsey dazzlingly recasts a Shakespearean tragedy as a psychological thriller of jealousy and gaslighting, ambition and envy, and the making and breaking of one of Shakespeare’s most notorious villains, Iago.

Format:Hardback 336 pages
Publisher:HarperCollins Publishers
Imprint:HarperNorth
ISBN:9780008803766
Published:16 Jul 2026
Classifications:Thriller / suspense, Myth & legend told as fiction, Historical fiction, Fiction: special features
Weight:590g