Louisa the Poisoner [Paperback]

Tanith Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2005

Raised in a swamp by a mad witch, poor Louisa grew up with one goal in mind: to marry a wealthy man, then inherit his lands and money by whatever means it takes. And Louisa may well succeed, for she is a stunning beauty with the manners of an angel. At last she sets off to make her fortune . . . and with the help of her vial of undetectable poison, she soon finds her first victim. A dazzlingly dark fantasy, as only Tanith Lee could write it!

Product Details

• Paperback: 78 pages
• Publisher: Wildside Press (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592246001
• ISBN-13: 978-1592246007
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,200,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tanith Lee Scores Again, November 9, 2006

By 

John D. Steyers "jdsteyers" (San Diego, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Louisa the Poisoner (Paperback)

Tanith Lee never ceases to amaze me. She has had a very long career, and her writing not only continues to be fresh and compelling in fantasy (probably her "clan terrtitory'), but to conquer other genres handily. "Louisa the Poisoner" is both a fantasy and a twist on a type of Victorian romance. This is a short novel, but with a satisfyingly rich plot and palette of (mostly unpleasant) characters. It is wickedly, sardonically funny, something Lee does particularly well. Its "moral" is, to say the least, unconventional, but, I think, quite apt. A very fine, short read!

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, enchanting, and dark, December 28, 2011

By 

Marisha Parker (Salt Lake City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Louisa the Poisoner (Paperback)

The thing that keeps me coming back to Tanith Lee's writing, again and again, is the beautiful fairy-tale prose she expertly uses to weave her story. And this story does read like a fairytale, although a dark, morbid one. The story hooked me immediately and carried me along, despite the amoral nature of the protagonist and her strangely beautiful malevolence.

Although Lee's prose is beautiful, formal, and elegant, it is not stiff. She describes effortlessly the nature and personalities of the widely varying characters, and illustrates emotion readily. The sheer loveliness of the descriptions of Louisa herself, of the clothes she wears, the setting into which she is placed, the workings of her mind, very much enchanted me.

This was very much a pleasure to read, and I think I'll go shop for more of Lee's work now. I just can't get enough of her writing.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty light stuff but it's still Tanith Lee, March 6, 2006

By 

Tim Lieder "Founder of Dybbuk Press" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Louisa the Poisoner (Paperback)

Reading this book makes one feel like Tanith Lee is taking a break from trying new things. This is a quintessential Tanith Lee book complete with morally ambiguous/repulsive heroine and a cast of despotic fools that play victim to her machinations. The progress of the book consists of Lee's heroine wheedling her way into the bosom of a gothic family standard and killing them one by one.

Not much else happens. There's a prosecutor that shows up late in the narrative to provide some tension, but that's about it. It's always great to read Tanith Lee whose prose is second to none, but this book is just nothing new.

Nice pictures, though.