200,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿 

Black Friday Sale on Now! Save up to 25% off Books, Toys, Board Games, & Puzzles! ✨

A Poisoner's Tale

By Cathryn Kemp
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.79 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 1,658 ratings, 281 reviews)
Brief Description
A Poisoner's Tale is a powerful historical fiction debut inspired by the true story of Giulia Tofana, the first documented female serial killer in history. Murderer or saviour? You decide... Rome, 1656: In the shadowy backstreets of the Eternal City lies an apothecary's shop—a place for... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2400
Elsewhere:
$2600
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A Poisoner's Tale is a powerful historical fiction debut inspired by the true story of Giulia Tofana, the first documented female serial killer in history.

Murderer or saviour? You decide...

Rome, 1656: In the shadowy backstreets of the Eternal City lies an apothecary's shop—a place for women to take their heartbreaks and troubles. Herbs for childbirth. Tarot readings to tell their fortunes. An undetectable poison that can kill in four drops.

Alongside her circle of female poisoners, Giulia Tofana dispenses her deadly potion to free the downtrodden women of the city from their abusive husbands—a path she's determined to follow after a harrowing childhood in Palermo.

But even in a time of plague, it does not go unnoticed when the men of Rome begin to fall like flies. With a newly elected Pope hell-bent on ridding the city of heretics and witches, and the Holy Office of the Inquisition on her tail, Giulia is in more danger than ever...

How far will she go for the women who need her help?

Exploring the realities of what it is like to be a woman who rebels against society, A Poisoner's Tale takes the reader on a tense, challenging but spellbinding journey. This is not just a retelling of the legend of Giulia Tofana but an ode to sisterhood and motherhood, to defiance and secret rebellion.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781804992241

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 06 February 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin (Transworld)

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 199.0mm

Weight: 277g

Pages: 400

Collections

Cathryn Kemp Fiction General Fiction Historical Fiction Horror & Supernatural Penguin Books

About the Author

Cathryn Kemp is a Sunday Times bestselling ghostwriter and author, with a prolific career writing celebrity, inspirational, true crime, addiction and nostalgia titles. Her personal memoir Coming Clean won the Big Red Read Prize for Non-Fiction. A Poisoner's Tale is her first foray into historical fiction. When not researching dark, dangerous and beguiling women from history, Cathryn can be found on the south coast with her son and her familiar, a ginger cat called Gingey.

Also by Cathryn Kemp

View all
  • A Poisoner's Tale
    A Poisoner's Tale is a powerful historical fiction debut inspired by the true story of Giulia Tofana, the first documented female serial killer in history. Discover the dark and gothic historical novel inspired by the true story of Giulia Tofana, the first documented female serial killer in history. Perfect for fans of The Familiars and The Lost Apothecary. 'A mesmerizing...
    By Cathryn Kemp
    Paperback
    $3800
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • They Can't Burn Us All
    Pre-order
    They Can't Burn Us All
    A powerful, deeply moving and dark feminist retelling of the most famous witch trial in 17th-century Iceland, perfect for fans of The Witches of Vardo and The Mercies. Westfjords, Iceland. 1655 Þuríður Jónsdóttir has grown up praying to the old gods and watching her father and brother practise rune magic. But now, a witch-hunting craze is sweeping across the land...
    By Cathryn Kemp
    Paperback
    $3800
    Pre-order
    Out 24 Nov 2026

Browse lists from our team

The Latest at Book Hero

View all

More from Historical Fiction

View all
  • New Release
    The Piano Teacher of Montparnasse
    In 1942, the Nazis came for a Jewish family living in Montparnasse, occupied Paris. In the chaos of their arrest, the eleven-year-old daughter fled to the only person she trusted: her piano teacher... The author of the international bestseller, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, returns with a masterful new novel that captures the astonishing bravery of ordinary people in extraordinary times....
    By Heather Morris
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Flying Girls
    A gripping drama from the #1 bestselling author, inspired by the pioneering female pilots who served with the Air Transport Auxiliary during World War II. Initially viewed with scepticism, these women became a crucial, high-skilled, and often unsung force that ferried 309,000 aircraft—from trainers to heavy bombers—from factories to Royal Air Force frontline bases, freeing up male combat pilots. The...
    By Olivia Spooner
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Art Lovers
    New Release
    The Art Lovers
    The heart-stopping new historical adventure by the bestselling author of The Soldier's Daughter. While war rages across the city of Valletta, a local barkeeper's daughter, Valentina Camilleri, is on the cusp of womanhood when Flight Lieutenant Peter Fox falls out of the sky from his Spitfire and into her world. In that fateful moment, he captures not just her imagination...
    By Fiona McIntosh
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    27% off
    The Parisian Chapter
    From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library and The Librarians of Rue de Picardie comes a charming and cinematic novel following a young woman from Montana who lands a job in the American Library in Paris, where she discovers the power of storytelling and writes her own Parisian chapter.'Stirring and rich with detail' New York Times...
    By Janet Skeslien Charles
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    16% off
    Inferno
    AD 60. Nero Claudius Caesar is Emperor. He is feared for his temper. He is known to be intoxicated by the power he wields. And why not? The Roman Empire stretches from the wilds of Britain to the deserts of Parthia. Nero is god of all he surveys. Yet dangerous traitors lie close at hand. Generals commanding legions. Senators whispering...
    By Conn Iggulden
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Circle of Days
    From the master of epic fiction comes the deeply human story of one of the world's greatest mysteries: the building of Stonehenge. A FLINT MINER WITH A GIFT Seft, a talented flint miner, walks the Great Plain in the high summer heat, to witness the rituals that signal the start of a new year. He is there to trade his...
    By Ken Follett
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    17% off
    The Soldier's Daughter
    The heart-stopping new blockbuster by the bestselling author of The Fallen Woman. Violet Nash has grown up in the shadows of her father Charlie's shattered dreams. It's been years since he walked away from the battlefields of France, a WWI hero but his heart in tatters, only to see it broken all over again in the worst way possible. In...
    By Fiona McIntosh
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Girl with the Suitcase
    The enthralling new novel from the 10-million-copy, No. 1 bestselling author. London 1941 When Mary meets a glamorous stranger named Elizabeth, she realises their lives couldn't be more different. But when an air raid forces them to take shelter underground, Mary's life is set to change forever. After waking up in hospital, injured but alive, the nurse mistakes her for...
    By Lesley Pearse
    Paperback
    $3099
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    23% off
    The Lost Bookshop
    Evie Woods' stunning new novel The Story Collector is available now. The Echo of Old Books meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets. ‘The thing about books,’ she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.’ On a quiet street in...
    By Evie Woods
    Paperback
    $1700
    Elsewhere:
    $2500
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • All the Diamonds in Paris
    Kristin Harmel is firmly in the top echelon of WW2 storytellers - HEATHER MORRIS A master storyteller - SANTA MONTEFIORE The best at sweeping historical drama - KELLY HARMS A dazzling diamond of a novel - HAZEL GAYNOR * Paris, 1942: Anabel Martinet is a jewel thief, descended from a family that has spent centuries stealing from the unkind and...
    By Kristin Harmel
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Listeners
    ‘By turns a beautiful love story, a fascinating glimpse into the horrors of history and a haunting tale of loyalty and courage. A marvel of storytelling’ CHRIS WHITAKER, bestselling author of All the Colours of the Dark The Avallon Hotel offers unrivalled luxury in the wild Appalachian Mountains, its curative sweetwater washing away the troubles of high society. June 'Hoss'...
    By Maggie Stiefvater
    Paperback
    $3600
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Atmosphere
    The new novel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six. An epic novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle programme and the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits. In the summer of 1980, astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin begins...
    By Taylor Jenkins Reid
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 200,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.