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‘An insightful, empathetic and well-researched account of a deeply fascinating and macabre true story’ KATE MOORE , New York Times bestselling author of The Radium Girls

‘Compelling’ TELEGRAPH

‘Such a compelling account of a small but significant dark corner of history… Profound, angry, and tender all at once’ VIRGINIA FEITO, author of MRS MARCH

‘Fascinating and very compelling’ ZOE VENDITOZZI, co-author of HOW TO KILL A WITCH

‘A moving story of desperation, violence and survival’ HELEN LEWIS, author of DIFFICULT WOMEN

Abusive husbands. Desperate women. Poisonous solutions.

At the turn of the 20th century, the women of Nagyrév, Hungary, were in trouble. Their stories were hauntingly similar: husbands who drank, who beat them, who made their lives unbearable.

The village midwife – their confidante – offered an answer: arsenic. Soon, women began slipping poison into their husbands’ brandy, porridge, and stews. Over the next twenty years, the quiet village became the epicentre of one of the deadliest series of poisonings in modern history.

In The Women Are Not Fine, journalist Hope Reese pieces together archival newspapers, court documents, police records and more to uncover the truth behind this extraordinary case. Her findings serve as a stark warning: when women are pushed to the brink, the consequences can reverberate through history.