The Madwoman’s Coat

1897: Isabella Trent is found murdered in a Fremantle asylum cell. Why did she die? Who is the killer? What is the meaning of the ornate motifs that she has secretly embroidered on a man’s frock coat? And who, really, is Isabella?

“In The Madwoman’s Coat Ian Reid consolidates his reputation for absorbing historical fiction. Reid draws imaginatively from the history of late nineteenth-century England and Western Australia, and from old Icelandic mythology, to create a fast-paced narrative that explores gender and class, love and insanity.” — Writing WA