Slashed Beauties (A Rushby, HQ Fiction)

Slashed Beauties is a lush historical fantasy and an adult debut by A Rushby (The Wish Sisters, The Ghost Locket). The novel is by turns macabre and emotional but always rooted in conversations about power. In the present day, Alys negotiates the purchase and transfer of an Anatomical Venus – a wax sculpture once used in medical education when cadavers were illegal. This ‘slashed beauty’ is one of three believed to be cursed, and the one condition of sale is that Alys must destroy it as soon as possible. In 1769 London, Eleanor meets the charismatic Elizabeth, who is opening a high-end salon where accomplished women entertain gentlemen. Eleanor is invited to join as a founding beauty alongside Emily, with the promise of food, a bed and a sense of family. It is immediately clear that these three women were the models for the titular slashed beauties in Alys’ time. As Eleanor’s story unfolds, the women shift from courtesans to wax replicas, raising the unsettling question of what those replicas become. In the present, Alys must uncover the Venuses’ secrets and battle the unnatural forces willing to kill in order to keep the sculptures intact. Although Georgian-era medicine and murder take place on the page, Slashed Beauties does not overindulge in gore. Rather, Rushby treats the women with respect, even when her characters do not. A strong choice for readers seeking a gentler introduction to feminist horror or a singular hook in historical fiction.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Kate Cuthbert is the publishing director at Books+Publishing. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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