The Spirit Bares Its Teeth

In The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, Andrew Joseph White transports readers to the dark and atmospheric world of 1883 London, where the boundary between the living and the dead is perilously thin. The city is cloaked in an eerie gloom, accentuated by the existence of violet-eyed mediums who communicate with spirits under the vigilant supervision of the Royal Speaker Society. Amidst this spectral landscape, sixteen-year-old Silas Bell stands in defiance of an imposed fate that neither acknowledges his true identity nor his unique challenges.

Silas, with his striking violet eyes, is expected by his overbearing mother to conform to societal norms and become a compliant Speaker wife by the end of the year. However, for Silas, the prospect of such a future is repulsive. Not only has he endured a decade of rigorous tutelage to conceal his autism, but also he harbours an unusual fascination with surgery, practised on slaughtered pigs. Crucially, Silas is a boy inescapably perceived as a girl by those around him, a cruel misalignment he cannot accept.

In a desperate bid to escape the clutches of an arranged marriage, Silas's world spirals further into turmoil when he is misdiagnosed with Veil sickness—a chilling affliction that drives violet-eyed women into insanity. Consequently, he is confined to Braxton's Sanitorium and Finishing School, an institution with a haunted reputation. The facility is an unwelcoming place, characterised by its frigid environment, harsh instructors, and a sinister dichotomy where students either blossom into desirable wives or inexplicably vanish.

As Silas navigates the treacherous corridors of Braxton's, he starts receiving pleas for help from the restless spirits of missing students. Driven by a fierce sense of justice and a resolve to uncover the dark secrets festering within Braxton’s, Silas embarks on a perilous mission to expose the institution’s corrupt core. Yet, this journey is fraught with dangers, threatening to break him both physically and mentally.

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth deftly blends historical fiction, supernatural elements, and a deeply personal narrative of identity and struggle. White’s masterful storytelling and evocative prose immerse readers in a gripping tale of resilience, defiance, and the unyielding fight for selfhood in the face of societal constraints. This compelling novel promises to captivate and haunt readers long after the final page is turned.