An evening with Barbara Havelocke

Join us for an in-person night diving into the world of Great Expectations with Barbara Havelocke's follow on books, Estella's Fury and Estella's revenge, the untold story of Estella.

Barbara is an international bestselling author, whose bookshave topped Amazon and Kobo, and also appeared on the USA Today chart.Her contemporary psychological thrillers are published under the name Barbara Copperthwaite. As Barbara Havelocke she creates dark, tense Gothic historical thrillers set in theearly Victorian era. Estella’s Revenge was nominated for the prestigious Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the YearAward 2025. For over twenty years Barbara wrote for & edited national magazines & newspapers, talking to victims of crime - and its perpetrators. Her fiction reflects this: she creates realistic characters, and often explores moral grey areas.

About Estella’s Revenge:

You know Miss Havisham.The world's most famous jilted bride.This is her daughter's story.Raised in the darkness of Satis House where the clocks never tick, the beautiful Estella is bred to hate men and to keep her heart cold as the grave.She knows she doesn't feel things quite like other people do, but is this just the result of her strange upbringing?As she watches the brutal treatment of women around her, hatred hardens into a core of vengeance and when she finds herself married to the abusive Drummle, she is forced to make a deadly choice:Should she embrace the darkness within her and exact her revenge?

About Estella’s Fury:

Daughter. Murderer. Saviour.
London, 1835.

To high society, Estella is the perfect lady. But her fair face hides dark secrets. What has she done with her husband? And will her past crimes come back to haunt her?
Desperate to escape her troubled life, she visits her friend, Lady Taykall. But when a servant girl disappears, Estella stumbles on a horrifying web of crimes and feels the old fire for vengeance burning inside her.
To mete out her own brand of dark justice she must risk everything.
Even if it means she cannot survive.
Great Expectations meets Dexter in this stunningly dark Gothic crime thriller.

Praise for Barbara Havelocke:

‘Gloriously Gothic,’ - Daily Mail'

The genius concept behind this book is so irresistible, it makes the novel feel like magic. Charles Dickens's spirit would be definitely securing his copy now!' - Sophie Hannah

'A deliciously dark Gothic treat wow it was like discovering a secret door in Great Expectations where an alternative character is centre stage - and what a character she is! This is an intelligent, original and hugely entertaining treat' - Janice Hallett'

Loved it from the very first page - Estella is a superbly well-drawn character and absolutely unforgettable.' - Frances Quinn

'Masterfully constructed, complex, immersive and delivered through Havelocke's beautiful prose. Both heartbreaking and uplifting, this is an absolute must-read.' - Rebecca Netley

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