Books / Beneath the Poet's House
Order: Amazon |
B & N |
Books-A-Million
For a grieving writer, the secrets of the past and present converge in a novel of gripping psychological suspense from the author of The Daughters of Block Island.
Unmoored by her husband's death and suffering from writer's block, novelist Saoirse White moves to Providence, and into the historic home of Sarah Helen Whitman, the nineteenth-century poet and spiritualist once courted by Edgar Allan Poe. Saoirse's certain she'll find inspiration in the quiet rooms, as well as in the tucked-away rose garden and forgotten cemetery at the back of the property.
Saoirse is immediately welcomed by an effusive trio of transcendentalists obsessed with Whitman, the house, and Whitman's mystic beliefs. Saoirse, emerging from grief and loneliness, welcomes the idea of new friends taking her mind off the past?even as they hope to summon it. When she meets Emmit Powell, a charismatic and charming prize-winning author, Saoirse thinks she's finally turned a corner.
Emboldened by new romance, Saoirse begins to write again and, through her writing, rediscover herself. But as old fears return, she finds that nothing about her new life is what it seems?and a secret she's tried so hard to bury may not be the only thing that comes back to haunt her.
– Publishers Weekly
"Beneath the Poet's House is creepy and addictive. Carmen uses a gothic New England setting to explore art and magic and left me thinking that the things men do to women are far more terrifying than any conjuring."
– Jessa Maxwell, author of The Golden Spoon and I Need You to Read This
"Beneath the Poet's House is a brilliant, gripping novel filled with secrets and danger. Christa Carmen captures the haunted magic of Providence and introduces one of the most fascinating and singular characters I've ever encountered. The novel shimmers with questions of what is real and what is imaginary, helped by the extraordinary setting of a writer's house with a tragically romantic rose garden, a cemetery, and ghosts in love. Shocking, tender, and wildly compelling, Beneath the Poet's House will keep you racing through the pages all night long."
– Luanne Rice, Amazon Charts and New York Times bestselling author of Last Night
"With secrets as deep and dark as catacombs and lyrical writing befitting of its literary inspirations, Beneath the Poet's House is a truly eerie page-turner."
– Zoje Stage, USA Today bestselling author of Baby Teeth and Dear Hanna
"In Beneath the Poet's House, haunting history meets a riveting modern mystery. It's a spellbinding, beautifully told story about secrets, the supernatural, and ultimately, finding the strength to fight back against impossible odds."
– Jess Lourey, Edgar-nominated author of The Taken Ones
"With lush, haunting prose to rival any classic, Beneath the Poet's House twists patriarchal gothic tropes and gives new breath to old stereotypes in a story that is at once a historical reckoning, a desperate love story, and an intriguing mystery. Like a crooked finger beckoning the reader down a castle's winding staircase, Carmen's writing is impossible to resist. Mark my words: she will soon find her place among the gothic greats."
– Katrina Monroe, author of Through the Midnight Door
"Christa Carmen has cleverly resurrected the infamous Providence romance between Edgar Allan Poe and Sarah Helen Whitman in this thrilling novel set in modern times. What unfolds is worthy of a plot concocted by Poe himself. You won't be able to put this book down!"
– Levi L. Leland, creator of www.edgarallanpoeri.com and A Walking Tour of Poe's Providence
"Haunting and gorgeously told, Beneath the Poet's House brings new life to the tumultuous romance and compelling lives of Edgar Allan Poe and Sarah Helen Whitman, all within a modern psychological suspense with a riveting plot that will enthrall readers."
– Vanessa Lillie, USA Today bestselling author of Blood Sisters
For a grieving writer, the secrets of the past and present converge in a novel of gripping psychological suspense from the author of The Daughters of Block Island.
Unmoored by her husband's death and suffering from writer's block, novelist Saoirse White moves to Providence, and into the historic home of Sarah Helen Whitman, the nineteenth-century poet and spiritualist once courted by Edgar Allan Poe. Saoirse's certain she'll find inspiration in the quiet rooms, as well as in the tucked-away rose garden and forgotten cemetery at the back of the property.
Saoirse is immediately welcomed by an effusive trio of transcendentalists obsessed with Whitman, the house, and Whitman's mystic beliefs. Saoirse, emerging from grief and loneliness, welcomes the idea of new friends taking her mind off the past?even as they hope to summon it. When she meets Emmit Powell, a charismatic and charming prize-winning author, Saoirse thinks she's finally turned a corner.
Emboldened by new romance, Saoirse begins to write again and, through her writing, rediscover herself. But as old fears return, she finds that nothing about her new life is what it seems?and a secret she's tried so hard to bury may not be the only thing that comes back to haunt her.
Editorial Reviews
"Bram Stoker Award winner [Christa] Carmen weaves a captivating web of psychological suspense in her latest spine-tingler...For gothic mystery fans, this is a treat."– Publishers Weekly
"Beneath the Poet's House is creepy and addictive. Carmen uses a gothic New England setting to explore art and magic and left me thinking that the things men do to women are far more terrifying than any conjuring."
– Jessa Maxwell, author of The Golden Spoon and I Need You to Read This
"Beneath the Poet's House is a brilliant, gripping novel filled with secrets and danger. Christa Carmen captures the haunted magic of Providence and introduces one of the most fascinating and singular characters I've ever encountered. The novel shimmers with questions of what is real and what is imaginary, helped by the extraordinary setting of a writer's house with a tragically romantic rose garden, a cemetery, and ghosts in love. Shocking, tender, and wildly compelling, Beneath the Poet's House will keep you racing through the pages all night long."
– Luanne Rice, Amazon Charts and New York Times bestselling author of Last Night
"With secrets as deep and dark as catacombs and lyrical writing befitting of its literary inspirations, Beneath the Poet's House is a truly eerie page-turner."
– Zoje Stage, USA Today bestselling author of Baby Teeth and Dear Hanna
"In Beneath the Poet's House, haunting history meets a riveting modern mystery. It's a spellbinding, beautifully told story about secrets, the supernatural, and ultimately, finding the strength to fight back against impossible odds."
– Jess Lourey, Edgar-nominated author of The Taken Ones
"With lush, haunting prose to rival any classic, Beneath the Poet's House twists patriarchal gothic tropes and gives new breath to old stereotypes in a story that is at once a historical reckoning, a desperate love story, and an intriguing mystery. Like a crooked finger beckoning the reader down a castle's winding staircase, Carmen's writing is impossible to resist. Mark my words: she will soon find her place among the gothic greats."
– Katrina Monroe, author of Through the Midnight Door
"Christa Carmen has cleverly resurrected the infamous Providence romance between Edgar Allan Poe and Sarah Helen Whitman in this thrilling novel set in modern times. What unfolds is worthy of a plot concocted by Poe himself. You won't be able to put this book down!"
– Levi L. Leland, creator of www.edgarallanpoeri.com and A Walking Tour of Poe's Providence
"Haunting and gorgeously told, Beneath the Poet's House brings new life to the tumultuous romance and compelling lives of Edgar Allan Poe and Sarah Helen Whitman, all within a modern psychological suspense with a riveting plot that will enthrall readers."
– Vanessa Lillie, USA Today bestselling author of Blood Sisters
Events
Nov 14, 2026
Time: 5:00 - 6:00 pm
Salem Lit Fest
Panel: Women Writing Horror: Bugs, Bodies, & Things That Go Bump with Christa Carmen, Rebecca Baum, & Tanya Eby. 50 Washington Street Salem, MA
More
Time: 5:00 - 6:00 pm
Salem Lit Fest
Panel: Women Writing Horror: Bugs, Bodies, & Things That Go Bump with Christa Carmen, Rebecca Baum, & Tanya Eby. 50 Washington Street Salem, MA
More
Dec 09, 2026
Time: 7:00pm
Fantastic Fiction at KGB:
A monthly speculative fiction reading series in New York City, hosted by Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel with Christa Carmen & Paul Tremblay. KGB Bar 85 East 4th Street New York, NY
More
Time: 7:00pm
Fantastic Fiction at KGB:
A monthly speculative fiction reading series in New York City, hosted by Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel with Christa Carmen & Paul Tremblay. KGB Bar 85 East 4th Street New York, NY
More
Feb 14, 2027
Boskone 64
Westin Boston Seaport District Boston, MA Event runs from February 12-14.
More
Boskone 64
Westin Boston Seaport District Boston, MA Event runs from February 12-14.
More
Anthology Showcase
"A Cold Moon in December"
Ghost Lights
Ghost Lights is the seventh volume in the non-themed horror series of original stories, showcasing the very best short fiction that the genre has to offer, and edited by Mark Morris. This new anthology contains 20 original horror stories, 15 of which have been commissioned from some of the top names in horror, and 5 selected from the hundreds of stories sent to Flame Tree during a short open submissions window. A delicious feast of the familiar and the new, the established and the emerging.
Read More
Ghost Lights
Ghost Lights is the seventh volume in the non-themed horror series of original stories, showcasing the very best short fiction that the genre has to offer, and edited by Mark Morris. This new anthology contains 20 original horror stories, 15 of which have been commissioned from some of the top names in horror, and 5 selected from the hundreds of stories sent to Flame Tree during a short open submissions window. A delicious feast of the familiar and the new, the established and the emerging.
Read More
