• Contact

  • Newsletter

  • About us

  • Delivery options

  • Prospero Book Market Podcast

  • The Women Are Not Fine: The Dark History of a Poisonous Sisterhood

    The Women Are Not Fine by Reese, Hope;

    The Dark History of a Poisonous Sisterhood

      • GET 15% OFF

      • The discount is only available for 'Alert of Favourite Topics' newsletter recipients.
      • Publisher's listprice GBP 16.99
      • The price is estimated because at the time of ordering we do not know what conversion rates will apply to HUF / product currency when the book arrives. In case HUF is weaker, the price increases slightly, in case HUF is stronger, the price goes lower slightly.

        8 116 Ft (7 730 Ft + 5% VAT)
      • Discount 15% (cc. 1 217 Ft off)
      • Discounted price 6 899 Ft (6 571 Ft + 5% VAT)

    8 116 Ft

    db

    Availability

    Estimated delivery time: In stock at the publisher, but not at Prospero's office. Delivery time approx. 3-5 weeks.
    Not in stock at Prospero.

    Why don't you give exact delivery time?

    Delivery time is estimated on our previous experiences. We give estimations only, because we order from outside Hungary, and the delivery time mainly depends on how quickly the publisher supplies the book. Faster or slower deliveries both happen, but we do our best to supply as quickly as possible.

    Product details:

    • Publisher Octopus
    • Date of Publication 10 July 2025
    • Number of Volumes Print PDF

    • ISBN 9781840918410
    • Binding Paperback
    • No. of pages224 pages
    • Size 232x152x20 mm
    • Weight 277 g
    • Language English
    • 777

    Categories

    Long description:

    "

    'Compelling' TELEGRAPH

    'Such a compelling account of a small but significant dark corner of history... Profound, angry, and tender all at once' VIRGINIA FEITO,
    author of MRS MARCH

    'Fascinating and very compelling' ZOE VENDITOZZI, co-author of HOW TO KILL A WITCH

    'A moving story of desperation, violence and survival' HELEN LEWIS,
    author of DIFFICULT WOMEN

    The women of Nagyre?v are desperate.
    They're abused by their husbands.
    They are feeding their newborns to livestock.


    At the turn of the 20th century, in the village of Nagyre?v, Hungary, midwife Zsuzsanna Fazekas was more than a caretaker - she was a confidante. She helped poor women give birth; she assisted them with abortions; and she listened. Their stories were the same: husbands who drank, who beat them, who made their lives unbearable.

    In response, Auntie Zsuzsi asked one question: ""Why bother with them?""

    Her solution was arsenic. Soon, women began slipping this concoction, made by dissolving flypaper in water, into their husbands' porridge, stews, and brandy. And over the next twenty years, the quiet village became the epicenter of one of the deadliest poisoning epidemics of the 20th century - according to some estimates, up to 300 people in the region were murdered.

    Why did they do it? How did these murders spin out of control? How did these women get away with their crimes for two decades?

    In The Women Are Not Fine, journalist Hope Reese pieces together archival newspapers, court documents, police records, and the vital work of historians, sociologists, and psychologists, diving deep into the truth behind this extraordinary event. Her findings serve as a stark warning: when women in a community are pushed to the brink, the consequences reverberate through history.

    The Women Are Not Fine is more than a true crime story. It's a timely, haunting exploration of what happens when women's suffering goes unanswered.

    More praise for The Women Are Not Fine:

    'A meticulously researched and sensitively rendered portrait of a community of women' ERIN KEANE, author of Runaway: Notes on the Myths That Made Me

    'Hope Reese has sleuthed out a riveting, remarkable true story that raises questions like the best dystopian fiction' PEGGY ORENSTEIN, author of Girls & Sex

    'A feat of investigative reporting . . . This book proves that our past is present' ELIZABETH FLOCK, author of The Furies

    'Enthralling . . . A fascinating read' STEPHANIE COONTZ, author of Marriage, a History

    'Hugely well-researched - an intriguing (and thoughtful) antidote to stereotypes about gendered violence.' GINA RIPPON, author of The Gendered Brain

    "

    More