52 pages • 1 hour read
The Villa
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
The Villa (2022) by Rachel Hawkins is a novel that grapples with the dynamics of close female friendship and its intersections with fame and creative work, drawing parallels across time (1816, 1974, and the present day). A New York Times best-selling author, Hawkins writes modernized Gothic thrillers and young adult fiction, as well as paranormal romantic comedies under the pen name Erin Sterling. Hawkins, who studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University, weaves together mystery, gothic, horror, and supernatural tropes with a focus on women’s experiences and roles. The Villa reimagines Gothic horror in order to explore the strangeness and high costs of fame. The Villa is inspired by the sexually charged group dynamics of the 1970s band Fleetwood Mac as they recorded the album Rumours and the tensions between Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Byron while staying in Geneva in the summer of 1816. The Villa balances historical fiction and thriller, creating a genre-defying exploration of female authorship and examines the tropes connected to female monstrosity and otherness.
Comprised of 15 chapters, The Villa follows the lives of Emily Sheridan, nee McCrae, and her childhood friend Jessica “Chess” Chandler as they uncover the dark and mysterious story of Unlock all 52 pages of this Study Guide Plus, gain access to 8,900+ more expert-written Study Guides. Including features:
Related Titles
By Rachel Hawkins
