[REVIEW] The Stradivarius by Rae Knowles
You see the word gaslight thrown around on the internet with such careless disregard nowadays that many people struggle to know exactly what it means. Luckily, if you’re left wondering what it means to gaslight, Rae Knowles’ debut novel The Stradivarius from Brigids Gate Press provides an excellent example of the degree of manipulation, meticulous planning, and emotional deception needed to successfully gaslight the ones you love. The novel blends elements of the gothic and thriller genres, while reading as a modernized, queerer take of 1944’s Gaslight. We follow Mae Pruitt, a woman who witnessed her violinist father brutally murdered as a child only to be quickly sent off to live with relatives, as she experiences a whirlwind romance and marriage with the older Carter Duvall and discovers that she inherited the Victorian home she grew up in.
As Mae adjusts to married life in the home where her father died, she begins to grow paranoid that something supernatural is occurring, garnering the criticism of her skeptical husband. Mae’s paranoia is enough for Carter to justify exerting more and more control over her life for her supposed own good. Carter explains his behavior as looking out for Mae, be it by criticizing her marijuana habit under the guise of caring for her health or boarding up parts of the house to keep Mae safe from rotting floorboards; however, Carter’s cruel delivery of these comments is very clearly a means of picking away at Mae’s independence, slowly convincing her that she doesn’t know what’s best for herself.
Mae finds her world restricted to locked doors, unwanted medications, and the ever watching eye of the housekeeper Eva. She begins to question her own grasp of reality. But as Carter’s control over her health and finances tighten, she seeks the help of Ollie, a non-binary handyperson obsessed with true crime and the mystery of what happened to her father and his prized possession: a rare Stradivarius violin. The rest of the novel reads as Mae battling against both her distrust of her husband and her own paranoia that his control and manipulation is justified as she unravels the mystery of her father’s death.
Rae Knowles’ prose shines in The Stradivarius, drawing influence from the visual and emotional style of the Gothic while imbuing the novel with modern updates that challenge the Gothic trope of the mad woman locked away for her own good. What I most appreciate about Knowles’ construction of this novel is its simplicity, never including unnecessary twists and trusting that the vying factions at the heart of the novel can successfully deliver a tense, effective thriller on their own.
As a villain, Carter Duvall succeeds because he’s exactly who the reader thinks he is: a cruel, conniving man, not a caring husband. Throughout the novel, I found myself wishing I could reach into the pages and punch Carter in the throat, which is quite an effective method for getting your audience to root for your protagonist. While I did appreciate the non-binary representation of Ollie, they felt a bit like Mae’s always loyal sidekick. Ollie, as a true crime fan and amateur sleuth, uncovers a lot of Carter’s secrets and plans, and I do think I would have preferred Mae discovering some of those clues herself. However, I did find Mae’s loss of control over her life and her constant battle of deciphering what is real and what is fabricated to be quite compelling.
If you’re a fan of Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, Agatha Christie mysteries, or the Gothic in general, I believe that The Stradivarius will perfectly scratch that itch. For a debut novel, Rae Knowles proves her merit as a quickly rising genre writer, and I look forward to seeing not only her future endeavors as an author but also as an editor as she serves as editor-in-chief for Lady Mantis Books, an erotic horror imprint of Brigids Gate Press.