“A writer at the height of her powers.” ― Oprah.com Is not empathy that consciousness leading us, unwitting, into the realm of spirits, avatars, even demons? Are not the dead still trying to reach the living? Welcome to Palmerino, the British enclave in rural Italy where Violet Paget, known to the world by her pen name and male persona, Vernon Lee, held court. In imagining the real life of this brilliant, lesbian polymath known for her chilling supernatural stories, Pritchard creates a multilayered tale in which the dead writer inhabits the heart and mind of her lonely, modern-day biographer. Positing the art of biography as an act of resurrection and possession, this novel brings to life a vividly detailed, subtly erotic tale about secret loves and the fascinating artists and intellectuals―Oscar Wilde, John Singer Sargent, Henry James, Robert Browning, Bernard Berenson―who challenged and inspired each other during an age of repression. Melissa Pritchard is the author of the novel Palmerino , the short story collection The Odditorium , and the essay collection A Solemn Pleasure: To Imagine, Witness, and Write , among other books. Emeritus Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Arizona State University, she now lives in Columbus, Georgia. In her enthralling new novel, award-winning fiction writer and biographer Pritchard (The Odditorium, 2012) asks, Is biography resurrection? Can resurrected spirits possess the living? She explores these mysterious subjects in a historical novel that matches a fictionalized version of the real-life Violet Paget—a brilliant, fiercely independent British Victorian lesbian author of the supernatural who used the pen name Vernon Lee, and whose artistic circle included Oscar Wilde, John Singer Sargent, and Bernard Berenson—with a wholly invented contemporary biographer, Sylvia. Sylvia’s husband of 15 years has left her for his male Russian lover, leaving her alone at 56, just when her agent instructs her to write something “juicy.” She feels “unanchored. Peripheral. A bit pointless” in her room at Palmerino, the Italian villa where Lee once lived. Soon, though, she is filled with Lee’s spirit, as the renegade writer guides Sylvia’s hand, sending the message that “all seduction is supernatural.” As Pritchard tells both women’s stories, she also reveals the secret lives of Victorians. An intriguing introduction to Violet Paget, and an unusual look into the mysteries of writing. --Whitney Scott O, The Oprah Magazine “Title to Pick Up Now” American Library Association “Over the Rainbow List” selection “A richly imagined, sensuous tale of a British writer holding court in Italy, flouting Victorian mores via her writing and her sexuality.” ― O, The Oprah Magazine “Slim and poetic . . . the mood is of thunderstorm air thick with loneliness and longing.” ― National Post “Part love story (or stories), part treatise on aesthetics, part mysterious tale of the supernatural, Palmerino [is] a tale of multiple seductions.” ― Phoenix New Times “A novel of allure . . . as fanciful as Astrid Lindgren’s Villa Villakula and foreboding as The Eagles’ “Hotel California,” Palmerino is surprising at every turn, sometimes frightening, and above all beautiful.” ― Lambda Literary “Melissa Pritchard has opened the door to understanding a once famous British lesbian writer. . . . Palmerino is a beautifully written and well-structured work.” ― Gay & Lesbian Review “[ Palmerino ] draws its life from its large and vivid characters. . . . With her signature hothouse lyricism and psychological acuity, Pritchard carries us fully into her created world.” ― IMAGE: Art, Faith, Mystery “In a mere 192 pages, Melissa Pritchard has created a rich, lush, and riveting story of two women writers in different eras.” ― Shelf Unbound “The achingly gorgeous prose in which Palmerino is written strikes pitch-perfect harmony with its equally strong expression of humanity, promising that the hidden beauty within is always worth the time it takes to discover it.” ― CCLaP: Chicago Center for Literature and Photography “A fascinating historical novel. . . . A mesmerizing love story. . . . Magnificent.” ― Connotation Press “Haunting, seductive, and magical.” ― GayRVA.com “Pritchard skillfully blends the past and present in her novel Palmerino , a book both richly lyrical and highly imaginative.” ― Largehearted Boy “Enthralling . . . An intriguing introduction to Violet Paget, and an unusual look into the mysteries of writing.” ― Booklist “A supernaturally infused, innovative story . . . Pritchard’s fertile imagination and presentation give new meaning to the expression ‘a meeting of the minds.’” ― Kirkus Reviews “Lush, tactile descriptions and impressionistic scenes bring alive this historical novel . . . cast[ing] Paget and her late nineteenth-century lifestyle in a captivating light.” ― ForeWord Reviews “Vibrant, passionate and absorbing. . . . Recommended.” ― Historical Novels Rev