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A Still and Awful Red
Hungary 1609, and Maria, a young peasant girl, is an accomplished seamstress who dreams of a more prosperous life, away from the constant threat of war, famine and disease. Then an old woman arrives at the cottage and informs Maria that she has been chosen by Countess Elizabeth Bathory to sew a series of elaborate gowns.
Entranced by the nobility, Maria dreams of receiving lavish attention and being invited into Countess Bathory's inner circle. But upon arriving at the castle she suspects she is in terrible danger. Servants are beaten and then disappear, the Countess herself is prone to fits of rage, and there are screams in the middle of the night. As Maria explores the castle and unravels its inner secrets, she finds herself a prisoner, as well as an unwilling pawn in Countess Bathory's murderous plot to retain both her power and beauty.
Entranced by the nobility, Maria dreams of receiving lavish attention and being invited into Countess Bathory's inner circle. But upon arriving at the castle she suspects she is in terrible danger. Servants are beaten and then disappear, the Countess herself is prone to fits of rage, and there are screams in the middle of the night. As Maria explores the castle and unravels its inner secrets, she finds herself a prisoner, as well as an unwilling pawn in Countess Bathory's murderous plot to retain both her power and beauty.
252 pages, Paperback
Published April 23, 2021
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95 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 6, 2022
Michael Howarth’s A Still and Awful Red is the best book I have read all year. I adored it. I could not put it down. It is also a novel I can easily imagine as either a popular movie or as a bingeworthy Netflix series. I stayed awake all night reading it. It combined in the most dizzying way all of my favorite fairy tales like “Snow White,” “Aladdin,” “Rapunzel” and even darker stories like “Bluebeard” with my favorite Gothic novels like The Castle of Otranto, The Mysteries of Udolpho, Carmilla and Dracula. But what fascinated me and addicted me so much about Howarth’s novel was how original it was. I could hear countless echoes to what constitutes both the fairy tale and the Gothic tradition but I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next. Moments that would play out one way in the fairy tales and Gothic novels I knew so well became fresh, unexpected, inspiring and shocking. It was like Howarth has rewritten both the fairy tale and the Gothic tradition and has moved these genres into a future landscape that never could have been dreamed about before. This is even more remarkable given that A Still and Awful Red is a historical novel. I cannot praise A Still and Awful Red enough. I can’t stop thinking about it. Even if you don’t like horror novels (which I normally don’t), I feel like you will still have my same excited reaction to A Still and Awful Red. It is a life-changing, genre-changing book.
July 12, 2022
If you love horror, read this. Fuck, if you don't *love* horror, you should read this. Although if you can't do gruesome, maybe don't. I don't know how there isn't more reviews for this one; there really should be!! I'm going to try to get a few copies of this in my bookstore so I can hand sell this shit. I've always been morbidly interested in Elizabeth Bathory and this satisfied (? I don't really know if that's the right phrasing) my curiosity. Loved Maria and her daring ambition to expose this utter and grim darkness occurring within the walls of the Countess's castle. But like, yeeeesss. This was hard to put down and enthralling from start to finish.
July 15, 2025
This book is was absolutely enthralling. It was hard to put down. It was a perfect balance of hopeful but also terribly dark and twisted. We love a strong female main character and a story that isn’t about romance!
April 3, 2021
This was a fantastic read if you are a fan of horror. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was sucked in right off and found myself reading during every free moment I had.
September 30, 2025
This book is soaked in so much blood, I can practically smell the metallic, coppery scent wafting from each page. Warning: this book is not for the faint of heart! Or stomach. Or nose. Because the writing gets so descriptive to the point where I could smell every scent and taste every morsel. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book as extremely lush as this one. It can get graphic at times with violence and gore.
A Still and Awful Red starts off very, very slow and not-so-scary… until the ending approaches. My skin is still crawling from that ending! I haven’t felt this disturbed in a good while.
The author’s writing is absolutely gorgeous and lush. That was my favorite part of this book and I enjoyed how descriptive and engaging the writing was.
Maria is definitely a girl boss (and not the cringy kind either). She was the best character in the story and she ruled her role as a protagonist! She was eloquent, savage when she needed to be, yet calm, collected, and so brave to a chilling point! She used her wits to get out of such a gruesome situation. I applaud her for being more brave than I could ever be if I were in that sort of situation. You go, girl!
There were many heavy-hitting quotes in this book that made my jaw drop to the floor, such as:
“Peasants are always spilling their blood.” She said this to no one in particular, but laughed anyway, as though she had told a clever joke. “Wherever they go, they leave a trail of red filth behind them.” I cleared my throat. “Perhaps they bleed to feel more alive.” “They bleed,” she said, “because they are too stubborn to accept their God-given position. Instead of cultivating pastures, they cultivate childish revolts.” I bit the inside of my cheek as drops of sweat collected on my forehead. “Some say they fight for noble causes.” Her eyes narrowed. “I hope you sew with as much passion as you speak.” My mother shushed me. (WOOOOOO. The savagery written in that single section was enough to cut a slab of raw meat! After reading this part, I was INSTANTLY HOOKED.)
“Remember, we must first descend if we wish to be raised.”
“Besides, we may discover someday…when we’re old and crumbling…that death is no different than life.” (The heaviness is real in this one and a quote that hit me like an oncoming train)
“You look ill,” she said, watching me in the corner of her mirror. “Do the mysteries of the human body unsettle you?” “No, Countess. I just prefer to ignore death until it’s screaming in my ear.” (SHEEEESSSHHH!!! This one was one of the heaviest quotes in the book!)
Perhaps I should have felt more forgiving or compassionate – clinging to scripture and reciting prayers like a pious peasant – but I had learned long ago that hard living produces hard feelings. (Ain’t that the truth, girl?)
All in all, another wild, unhinged read of the year and one that I have stashed in my research corner for my own gothic/fantasy/horror project I’m writing.
A Still and Awful Red starts off very, very slow and not-so-scary… until the ending approaches. My skin is still crawling from that ending! I haven’t felt this disturbed in a good while.
The author’s writing is absolutely gorgeous and lush. That was my favorite part of this book and I enjoyed how descriptive and engaging the writing was.
Maria is definitely a girl boss (and not the cringy kind either). She was the best character in the story and she ruled her role as a protagonist! She was eloquent, savage when she needed to be, yet calm, collected, and so brave to a chilling point! She used her wits to get out of such a gruesome situation. I applaud her for being more brave than I could ever be if I were in that sort of situation. You go, girl!
There were many heavy-hitting quotes in this book that made my jaw drop to the floor, such as:
“Peasants are always spilling their blood.” She said this to no one in particular, but laughed anyway, as though she had told a clever joke. “Wherever they go, they leave a trail of red filth behind them.” I cleared my throat. “Perhaps they bleed to feel more alive.” “They bleed,” she said, “because they are too stubborn to accept their God-given position. Instead of cultivating pastures, they cultivate childish revolts.” I bit the inside of my cheek as drops of sweat collected on my forehead. “Some say they fight for noble causes.” Her eyes narrowed. “I hope you sew with as much passion as you speak.” My mother shushed me. (WOOOOOO. The savagery written in that single section was enough to cut a slab of raw meat! After reading this part, I was INSTANTLY HOOKED.)
“Remember, we must first descend if we wish to be raised.”
“Besides, we may discover someday…when we’re old and crumbling…that death is no different than life.” (The heaviness is real in this one and a quote that hit me like an oncoming train)
“You look ill,” she said, watching me in the corner of her mirror. “Do the mysteries of the human body unsettle you?” “No, Countess. I just prefer to ignore death until it’s screaming in my ear.” (SHEEEESSSHHH!!! This one was one of the heaviest quotes in the book!)
Perhaps I should have felt more forgiving or compassionate – clinging to scripture and reciting prayers like a pious peasant – but I had learned long ago that hard living produces hard feelings. (Ain’t that the truth, girl?)
All in all, another wild, unhinged read of the year and one that I have stashed in my research corner for my own gothic/fantasy/horror project I’m writing.
June 19, 2021
Let me start with, "not a horror fan", so this was a big step in reading. My hope rested in the author being a college professor, and not prone to gratuitous violence. A couple of chapters in, I did some research on the Countess of Bathory. Okay, wow! She really didn't need exaggeration. In blood play she was, all that and a bag of chips. Howarth uses a seamstress, intended victim, and general factotum to the Countess, to tell his well crafted story. Think Julia Roberts in the Jeckel/Hyde movie.
From what I've read about the Countess, the author took a story that could have been turned into a continuous blood bath, (pun intended) and used a skilled touch. He makes the reader provide his own picture, thus scaring you worse than a factual slap in the face. Even as Maria is actually scrubbing the Countess with the blood, we feel more for her revulsion, and fear, than our own reaction. I went back and fourth, arguing Maria's culpability, or innocence, to the very last paragraph.
The book reads fast and you are hooked from the very start. The Grimm Brothers have nothing on this author. Read in one setting, I can't recommend this book enough. Just read it in the daylight.
From what I've read about the Countess, the author took a story that could have been turned into a continuous blood bath, (pun intended) and used a skilled touch. He makes the reader provide his own picture, thus scaring you worse than a factual slap in the face. Even as Maria is actually scrubbing the Countess with the blood, we feel more for her revulsion, and fear, than our own reaction. I went back and fourth, arguing Maria's culpability, or innocence, to the very last paragraph.
The book reads fast and you are hooked from the very start. The Grimm Brothers have nothing on this author. Read in one setting, I can't recommend this book enough. Just read it in the daylight.
July 4, 2023
In many ways it is a competently written story which did pick up the pace and have the required tension about 65% of the way through. For me I just could not suspend my disbelief to imagine any of these things actually happening to these characters. The character of Madam Bathory was too flat and undeveloped. All of the characters do exactly what they need to do for the sake of the plot but I never felt any of them are real or had any investment in them.
February 17, 2024
This was a wonderful read. It was refreshing to encounter such well written prose. I look forward to future novels from this author. If the story of the countess is true, she puts to shame every other horror antagonist that I’ve ever read about—and I’ve read a lot of horror.
February 17, 2023
Amazing work of historical fiction!! Details are beautifully written and thoroughly researched. I highly recommend for anyone interested in learning about the infamous "Blood Countess."
December 7, 2024
Simply phenomenal! This book is dark and ominous. The reader is constantly left in the edge of their seat, wondering what’s around the next corner. I literally couldn’t put it down. Strongly recommend it to anyone who likes horror or gothic or suspenseful books. It’s just so so good.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews