A perfect autumnal read, Orfeia by Joanne Harris is delicious, dark and dreamlike; a retelling of the Orpheus myth, subverted to reflect the depths of a mother’s love and grief.

After her daughter’s death, Fay cannot sleep. On one of her nighttime runs though central London she encounters a strange group and glimpses something impossible. Like Alice falling down the rabbit hole, so begins her journey into the other realms of London Beyond and London Beneath, and a beguiling yet melancholy tale of fae and folklore.

Harris’ vivid and beautiful prose, her nod to ancient song and riddles, are stunningly combined with Bonnie Helen Hawkins’ gorgeous illustrations and draw you into a world of wonder and decay, as Fay gives her everything in the search to reclaim her daughter from the hands of Death himself. This is a gorgeous exploration of memory, identity and love. A wondrously weird, wild earthy delight.

The is the third of Harris’ novellas based on the Child Ballads. The previous two, A Pocketful of Crows and The Blue Salt Road both equally brilliant and highly recommended.