The Spirit Engineer
A. J. West
Belfast, 1914. Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, high society has become obsessed with spiritualism, attending séances in the hope they might reach their departed loved ones.
William Jackson Crawford is a man of science and a sceptic, but one night with everyone sitting around the circle, voices come to him – seemingly from beyond the veil – placing doubt in his heart and a seed of obsession in his mind. Could the spirits truly be communicating with him or is this one of Kathleen's parlour tricks gone too far?
Based on the true story of Professor William Jackson Crawford and famed medium Kathleen Goligher, and with a cast of characters including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, The Spirit Engineer conjures a haunted, twisted tale of power, paranoia, and one ultimate, inescapable truth...
William Jackson Crawford is a man of science and a sceptic, but one night with everyone sitting around the circle, voices come to him – seemingly from beyond the veil – placing doubt in his heart and a seed of obsession in his mind. Could the spirits truly be communicating with him or is this one of Kathleen's parlour tricks gone too far?
Based on the true story of Professor William Jackson Crawford and famed medium Kathleen Goligher, and with a cast of characters including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, The Spirit Engineer conjures a haunted, twisted tale of power, paranoia, and one ultimate, inescapable truth...
GENRE
Historical; Gothic
UK PUBLICATION
October 2021
Historical; Gothic
UK PUBLICATION
October 2021
Praise
Winner of the HWA Debut Crown Award 2022
Winner of Bert's Books Book of the Year 2021
"A fiendishly clever tale of ambition, deception and power."
Derren Brown
"Haunting, witty and deeply moving. The Spirit Engineer is surely set to become a Gothic classic."
Jodie Whittaker
"So clever it makes your head spin! The Spirit Engineer is a work of true invention and drama."
Jeremy Vine
"The Spirit Engineer is an ingeniously plotted debut novel."
Sarah Burton
"There is a clumsy charm and warmth displayed by William Crawford in early family relations. But with a skilful misdirection that any Edwardian spirit medium would be proud to demonstrate, A.J. West soon turns the screw in this fascinating novel."
Essie Fox
"Literally haunted my dreams (in a good way!). Based on an absolutely astonishing true story, it kept me guessing right till the end."
Frances Quinn
Winner of Bert's Books Book of the Year 2021
"A fiendishly clever tale of ambition, deception and power."
Derren Brown
"Haunting, witty and deeply moving. The Spirit Engineer is surely set to become a Gothic classic."
Jodie Whittaker
"So clever it makes your head spin! The Spirit Engineer is a work of true invention and drama."
Jeremy Vine
"The Spirit Engineer is an ingeniously plotted debut novel."
Sarah Burton
"There is a clumsy charm and warmth displayed by William Crawford in early family relations. But with a skilful misdirection that any Edwardian spirit medium would be proud to demonstrate, A.J. West soon turns the screw in this fascinating novel."
Essie Fox
"Literally haunted my dreams (in a good way!). Based on an absolutely astonishing true story, it kept me guessing right till the end."
Frances Quinn
Rights Sales for THE SPIRIT ENGINEER
World Rights: Duckworth Books
- Italy: Neri Pozza