Henry dreams of silence.

A world without the clattering of carriages through cobbled streets, the distant cries of drunken brawls, the relentless ticking of the clock.

Then he meets a fascinating, mysterious gentleman who sells just that. Precious silk that can drown out the clamour of the world – and everything Henry is so desperate to escape.

Summoned to Sir Edward’s secluded factory to try to cure his young daughter’s deafness, Henry is soon drawn deeper and deeper into the origins of this otherworldly gift: a gift that has travelled from ancient Mediterranean glades to English libraries.

Ignoring repeated warnings from the girl's secretive governess, he allows himself to fall under the spell of Sir Edward and his silk… but when he learns its true cost, will it be too late to turn back?

FROM THE CREATORS OF THE HAUNTING SEASON COMES A DAZZLING COLLECTION OF NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN GHOSTLY TALES. 'Terrific - every bit as good as an MR James collection' ROSIE ANDREWS, author of THE LEVIATHAN Featuring new and original stories from: Bridget Collins, author of The Binding Imogen Hermes Gowar, author of The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies Andrew Michael Hurley, author of The Loney Jess Kidd, author of Things in Jars Natasha Pulley, author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory Laura Purcell, author of The Silent Companions Susan Stokes Chapman, author of Pandora Laura Shepherd-Robinson, author of The Square of Sevens Stuart Turton, author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Catriona Ward, author of The Last House on Needless Street The tradition of a haunted tale at Christmas has flourished across the centuries. These twelve stories - authored by some of today's most loved and lauded writers of historical and gothic fiction - are all centred around Christmas or Advent, boldly and playfully re-imagining a beloved tradition for a modern audience. Taking you from a haunted Tuscan villa to a remote Scottish island with a dark secret,, these vibrant haunted stories are your ultimate companion for frosty nights. So curl up, light a candle, and fall under the spell of winters past . . . 'I absolutely devoured The Winter Spirits. Every story is a gem' LAURA SHEPPERSON 'Another dazzling collection. Chilling, moving and incredibly satisfying' AMANDA MASON 'Eerily macabre, hauntingly propulsive' JOANNE BURN

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'You won't find a more thrilling winter read this year, or a better line up of writers who have mastered the gothic and ghostly.' SARA COLLINS, Costa Award-winning author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton Featuring new and original tales from: Bridget Collins Sunday Times bestselling author of The Binding | Imogen Hermes Gowar Sunday Times bestselling author of The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock | Kiran Millwood Hargrave Sunday Times bestselling author of The Mercies | Andrew Michael Hurley Sunday Times bestselling author of The Loney | Jess Kidd International award-winning author of Things in Jars | Elizabeth Macneal Sunday Times bestselling author of The Doll Factory | Natasha Pulley Sunday Times bestselling author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street | Laura Purcell Award-winning author of The Silent Companions ______________ Long before Charles Dickens and Henry James popularized the tradition, the shadowy nights of winter have been a time for people to gather together by the flicker of candlelight and experience the intoxicating thrill of a ghost story. Now eight bestselling, award-winning authors - all of them master storytellers of the sinister and the macabre - bring the tradition to vivid life in a spellbinding new collection of original spine-tingling tales. Taking you from the frosty Fens to the wild Yorkshire moors, to the snow-covered grounds of a haunted estate, to a bustling London Christmas market, these mesmerizing stories will capture your imagination and serve as your indispensable companion to the cold, dark nights. So curl up, light a candle, and fall under the spell of winters past . . .

LOSE YOURSELF IN THE BREAKOUT SENSATION OF THE YEAR SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019 'Brilliant' Joanna Cannon 'Spellbinding' Guardian 'Magic' Erin Kelly 'Immersive' Sunday Times 'Gorgeous' Stella Duffy 'Astounding' Anna Mazzola Emmett Farmer is a binder's apprentice. His job is to hand-craft beautiful books and, within each, to capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory. If you have something you want to forget, or a secret to hide, he can bind it - and you will never have to remember the pain it caused. In a vault under his mentor's workshop, row upon row of books - and secrets - are meticulously stored and recorded. Then one day Emmett makes an astonishing discovery: one of the volumes has his name on it.

LOSE YOURSELF IN THE MOST EPIC BOOK OF THE YEAR. 'BEAUTIFUL' JOANNA CANNON 'MESMERISING' ERIN KELLY 'TOTALLY ADDICTIVE' JOANNA GLEN 'SUMPTUOUS' OBSERVER 'DIZZYINGLY WONDERFUL' THE TIMES WINNING WAS EVERYTHING... UNTIL IT DESTROYED THEM Two young men, Leo and Carfax, close friends and fierce rivals. A family ripped apart by madness and tragedy. One woman, her life built upon a lie, with a mysterious connection to them all... 'INGENIOUS' GUARDIAN 'A STORYTELLER OF RARE IMAGINATION' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'BRILLIANT' WOMAN & HOME 'A RICH DELIGHT' SANDRA NEWMAN 'CAPTIVATING' DAILY MIRROR 'AN IMMERSIVE, IMAGINATIVE SLICE OF STORYTELLING' DAILY EXPRESS 'MAGICAL' IRISH INDEPENDENT