Pre-order
1
of
1
Spooky Ladies
Rebels, witches, mediums & magic
Brief Description
From séances to stage magic, Spooky Ladies reveals the rebellious women who used wit, spectacle and the supernatural to survive, scandalise and captivate the world. Spooky Ladies is a wildly entertaining and sharply insightful celebration of the clairvoyants, mediums, mind-readers and magicians’ assistants who dazzled audiences,...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$4299
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Pre-order
Releases
27th
October 2026
(Approx. Date)
Pre-order "Spooky Ladies" now to secure your copy from our first shipment
Found a better price? Request a price match
Spooky Ladies
$4299
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Latest News
The Grand Line Awaits! New One Piece Plush Toys
New One Piece Plush Toys have arrived at Toy Hero
Bluey Alert: New Bluey Toys Have Just Arrived!
New Bluey Toys have arrived at Toy Hero
A personal message to our customers
We've heard that some people are surprised to learn that Book Hero is a 100%...
Fiction for Foodies
Lizzy is sharing some of her favourite fiction reads for people who love food as...
Book Hero's Favourite Biographies!
The Book Hero team are sharing their favourite biography or memoir - some are recent...
See more
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
From séances to stage magic, Spooky Ladies reveals the rebellious women who used wit, spectacle and the supernatural to survive, scandalise and captivate the world.
Spooky Ladies is a wildly entertaining and sharply insightful celebration of the clairvoyants, mediums, mind-readers and magicians’ assistants who dazzled audiences, scandalised sceptics and carved out lives on the fringes of polite society.
In this fascinating new work by the beloved chronicler of women’s lives, Kaz Cooke uncovers the extraordinary stories of women who conjured ghosts, delivered prophecies, read minds and performed miracles – whether by genuine belief, theatrical flair, calculated fraud or sheer survival instinct. From the Victorian séance parlours of the Fox sisters to the enduring legend of Bess Houdini, these women built careers in worlds dominated by male rationalists, using wit, spectacle and audacity to make their own way.
Featuring an unforgettable cast of characters – including Madame Blavatsky, Helen Duncan, the last woman tried for witchcraft, Girardelli the Fireproof Lady, Adelaide Herrmann and the ‘Wild Colonial Girls’ of Australia’s spiritualist scene – Spooky Ladies explores the blurred line between performance, belief, feminism and deception.
Rich with astonishing true stories and fabulous archival photographs, this is a spirited journey through the lives of women who ignored convention, embraced mystery and lived gloriously unladylike lives. By turns funny, thought-provoking and utterly spellbinding, Spooky Ladies asks whether today’s astrologers, TikTok witches and modern mystics are simply the latest in a long line of independent women making magic from their own ingenuity.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781761638596
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 27 October 2026
Country: Australia
Imprint: Scribner Australia
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 158.0mm
Height: 234.0mm
Weight: 0g
Pages: 368
About the Author
Kaz Cooke is a journalist-turned-author and cartoonist. Her bestselling and award-winning books are beloved and trusted by generations of girls and women, and have been updated and kept continually in print. They include Up The Duff: The Real Guide to Pregnancy, Babies & Toddlers (formerly Kidwrangling), Girl Stuff 8–12, Girl Stuff 13+ and It's The Menopause. Her trademark blend of trusted research and humour meets her love of history and archives in You're Doing It Wrong: A History of Bad & Bonkers Advice to Women, Ada, and her latest book, Spooky Ladies. Kaz has been awarded research fellowships at the National Library of Australia and the State Library of Victoria. She lives in Melbourne, where she drinks tea, talks on the phone and can't find her keys. You can find her at at kazcooke.com.au.
Also by Kaz Cooke
View all-
Girl Stuff 8-12
Girl Stuff 8-12 by Kaz Cooke is the ultimate guide for young girls navigating the pivotal pre-teen years. This engaging and informative book is designed to be a friendly companion, offering advice and tips on a wide range of topics relevant to girls aged 8 to 12. Drawing on the trusted expertise of medical professionals and other specialists, Kaz Cooke...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Up the Duff
Australia's top-selling, most respected pregnancy book - now fully revised and updated. Kaz Cooke's best-selling Up the Duff is firmly established as the most loved and trusted book for Australian and New Zealand women on pregnancy. Australia's most trusted advisor on women's health delivers the lowdown on pregnancy, birth, and how to best prepare for life with a baby. There's...Paperback$5000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Girl Stuff 13+
Girl Stuff 13+ by Kaz Cooke is the ultimate guidebook for teenage girls navigating the tumultuous waters of adolescence. Packed with nearly 600 pages of invaluable advice, hilarious cartoons, and heaps of practical tips, this book serves as a trustworthy companion through the many changes and challenges that come with growing up. Kaz Cooke leaves no stone unturned in addressing...Paperback$4300Elsewhere:$5000Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips mid September -
The Arts of Beauty & Hints to Gentlemen on the Art of Fascinating
Lola Montez was the greatest show-off on earth. Born in 1818, she was famous for being rowdy, wicked, and gorgeous. She travelled to all corners of the earth, seducing royalty, performing sexy dances, and throwing tantrums. She drove men mad with a glimpse of her breasts and horsewhipped those who insulted her, including an Australian reporter. In this smart and...Hardback$2600Elsewhere:$2800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
You're Doing it Wrong: A History of Bad & Bonkers Advice to Women
You're Doing it Wrong is an outrageous tour through the centuries of bonkers and bad advice handed down and foisted upon women, told as only Kaz Cooke can—with humour and rage, intelligence and wit. Come with Kaz on a laugh-out-loud frolic through centuries of terrible advice, from 14th-century clergy to the Kardashians (wear a dress made of arsenic, do some...Paperback$3600Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
It's The Menopause
It's the Menopause. A reassuring, practical go-to book from trusted author Kaz Cooke in her laugh-out-loud style, informed by menopause doctors and other experts, and the voices of thousands of real women. Here's help for the mental and physical challenges of perimenopause, menopause, 'early' menopause, and is-this-even-menopause. Get the lowdown on everything you need to know about menopause. Does it...Paperback$5000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Babies & Toddlers
The sequel to Up the Duff - the essential guide to the care of babies and toddlers, from Australia's most loved and trusted voice for parents and carers. Now you have a baby, what are you going to do with it?! Kaz Cooke, the author of the bestselling pregnancy book Up the Duff, has you covered from your very first...Paperback$4800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Wanda-Linda Goes Berserk
When Wanda-Linda wakes up in a bad mood, she's rude to her mum and dad and even Glenda, her hairy-nosed wombat. But who could have predicted that Wanda-Linda's biggest tantrum would end up involving a horrified Mrs Kafoops, a packet of butter and the fire brigade? The stars of Kaz Cooke's bestselling The Terrible Underpants ride again, with a special...PaperbackSold Out
More from History & Military
View all-
12% offSaving Elli
One child. Two years in hiding. Three lives in mortal danger. In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's house, another Jewish girl is hidden. Her name is Elli. Her father has been executed at Mauthausen concentration camp. Her mother is fleeing for her life. Elli is next. To save her, resistance couple Frits and Jo Hakkens must risk everything, concealing her...Paperback$2900Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Spy and the Traitor
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre is a spellbinding Cold War thriller that unravels the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB double agent who risked everything to aid the British in the battle against Soviet oppression. In meticulously researched detail, Macintyre paints a vivid portrait of espionage, double-crossing, and unparalleled bravery, giving readers a riveting glimpse into...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseSuicidal Empathy
The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...Paperback$3099Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Betrayal
‘Tom Bower is the Inspector Morse of investigative biographers, a fluent, phlegmatic storyteller and a master of intricacies.’ Sunday Times The British Crown is in crisis, with constitutional threats at home and abroad. At a landmark moment in royal history, can King Charles overcome the scandals that blight the Royal family? Can the broken bonds between the Houses of Sussex...Paperback$3499Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Man's Search For Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is a profound, thought-provoking memoir and psychological exploration that delves into the harrowing experiences of life in Nazi concentration camps, intertwined with the author’s groundbreaking theories on existential psychology. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, offering a beacon of hope and a roadmap for finding purpose...Paperback$1800Elsewhere:$2100Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThe World of the Odyssey & Other Greek Myths
This jigsaw brings together Odysseus' famed journey in one epic scene. Each reference from the tale is highlighted and explained in an accompanying fold-out poster with text by an expert author. 1000-PIECE PUZZLE that measures 48.5 x 68 cm (19 x 27 in.) when completed. INCLUDES A FOLD-OUT POSTER with an introduction to the Odyssey and descriptions of all the...Jigsaw$3500Elsewhere:$4499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
SignedThe Chief and the Empire
The Chief and the Empire uncovers the extraordinary true tale of Te Tai Tokerau rangatira Te Pahi - the first influential Māori leader to cross the Tasman - whose curiosity about the Pākehā world forged alliances, saved lives, and ultimately cost him his own. On a visit to Sydney in 1805, Te Pahi was feted as a celebrity, building close...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Discipline
Silence is complicity, but how do we confront the cost of speaking up? Sydney, May 2021. Ashraf is an academic whose career and personal life are in freefall. Hannah is a young journalist struggling to honour the voices of her community. When a Year 12 Al-Bayinnah College student is arrested for protesting a university's ties to an Israeli weapons manufacturer,...Paperback$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Shattered Lands
'A sparkling debut by an outstanding young historian' – PETER FRANKOPAN 'This book is a revelation … both original and important' – MISHAL HUSAIN A history of modern South Asia told through five partitions that reshaped it. As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and...Paperback$3699Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Women's Prize Winner
The Finest Hotel in Kabul
The story of a hotel. The story of a nation. When the Inter-Continental Kabul opened in 1969, Afghanistan's first luxury hotel symbolised a dream of a modernising country connected to the world. More than fifty years on, the Inter-Continental is still standing. It has endured Soviet occupation, multiple coups, a grievous civil war, a US invasion and the rise, fall...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Goliath’s Curse
Goliath’s Curse by Luke Kemp offers a radical retelling of human history through the lens of collapse, delving into what this means for our uncertain future. This narrative spans from the dawn of our species to the urgent existential threats of the twenty-first century and beyond. It's grounded in the latest research and a comprehensive database of more than 440...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New Release
Biological War
There is an invisible weapon among us. By the time you know you are a victim, it has turned you into a killer. A blistering new non-fiction thriller from the Baillie Gifford shortlisted author of Nuclear War (200,000 copies sold). A lab accident, a bio-attack, a global pandemic, and the collapse of human society. In this essential new book, based...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips 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
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
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
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.
