A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather

An eldritch historical fantasy of midwifery, monstrosity, and the rending
of the world, for fans of The Essex Serpent and The Death of Jane
Lawrence.
An entrancing and transformative queer tale of cosmic horror." - Caitlin
Starling
"A blood sacrifice of a novel." - Meg Elison
In 17th-century London, unnatural babies are being born, with eyes made for
the dark and webbed digits suited to the sea.
Sarah Davis is intimately familiar with such strangeness - having hidden her
uncanny nature all her life and fled to London under suspicious
circumstances, Sarah starts over as a midwife's apprentice to a member of
the illegal Worshipful Company of Midwives, hoping to carve out for herself an
independent life. But with each new unnatural birth, the fear in London grows
of the Devil's work.
When the wealthy Lady Wren hires her to see her through her pregnancy,
Sarah quickly becomes a favorite of her husband, the famous architect Lord
Christopher Wren, whose interest in the uncanny borders on obsession.
Sarah soon finds herself caught in a web of magic and intrigue created by
those who want to use her power for themselves, and whose pursuits threaten
(...)

Lina Rather is a speculative fiction author and graduate student living in
Central New York. Her short fiction has appeared in venues including
Lightspeed, Podcastle, and Shimmer . Her Tordotcom Publishing novella
series, Our Lady of Endless Worlds, is about devotion, empire, and nuns living
in a giant slug in outer space. When Lina isn't writing, she likes to cook overly
elaborate recipes, read history, and collect cool rocks. Find her on Twitter or
Instagram as @LinaRather, and find her other works at linarather.com.

Tor
On Sale: Oct 31/23
5 x 8 • 160 pages
9781250884015 • $27.99 • CL - With dust jacket
Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy