The London Séance Society
I Don't Believe in Ghosts. But I Would Do Anything to Speak to My Sister One More Time.
That is where this book lives. Right in that uncomfortable space between skepticism and grief, between what your mind insists cannot be real and what your heart absolutely needs to be true.
I picked up The London Séance Society because the premise grabbed me and refused to let go: 1873, Victorian London, an all-male occult society with secrets buried deeper than any grave, and a young woman who doesn’t believe in any of it but will walk straight into the darkness anyway, because her sister is dead and nobody is telling the truth about why.
Lenna Wickes watched her sister Evie become obsessed with the London Séance Society, governed and populated exclusively by men. When Evie was found murdered, Lenna did the only thing that made sense: travel to Paris and apprentice herself to Vaudeline D’Allaire, the most celebrated medium in the world, a woman known for conjuring the spirits of murder victims to identify their killers.
Sarah Penner drops you into Victorian London completely. I could feel the fog on my skin. I could hear the horse-drawn carriages on the cobblestones. And underneath the candlelit séances and gothic atmosphere is something sharp and modern: a story about powerful men who exploit women, about institutions built on fraud and silence, about a sister who tried to expose the truth and paid for it with her life. Evie was not just a victim. She was writing an exposé. And finishing what she started becomes the most important thing Lenna has ever done.
The romance between Lenna and Vaudeline is one of the quietest and most convincing things in the book: two women finding each other in a world that has no space for either of them.
Spooky, sexy, subversive, and deeply satisfying. This one stayed with me.
Plot Summary
Lenna Wickes, a young woman who does not believe in ghosts, is investigating the mysterious death of her younger sister, Evie. The trail leads her to the London Séance Society, an all-male collective to which her sister was connected. The novel alternates between chapters from Lenna’s perspective and those from Mr. Morely, the head of the Society’s Department of Spiritualism.
A Mysterious Invitation
The story begins in Paris, where Lenna is an apprentice to Vaudeline D’Allaire, a medium who specializes in contacting the spirits of people who died under mysterious circumstances. A letter from Mr. Morely arrives, announcing the murder of the Society’s president, Mr. Volckman, and requesting Vaudeline’s assistance. Though they are not aware of it, Morely’s narration reveals he met Evie before she died and even struck up a relationship with her.
Lenna, though irritated by the disruption, agrees to accompany Vaudeline to London. Along the way, Vaudeline reveals that she left the Society because of rampant fraud and warned Evie to stay away. However, when Lenna sees Morely wearing her sister’s hat, she insists on getting involved.
Unraveling the Conspiracy
In London, Morely introduces them to Constable Beck, who is tasked with protecting them. Lenna and Vaudeline are shocked to find Evie’s initials in the Society’s visitor log. Morely’s narration reveals that he allowed Evie access to the Society’s library and resources in exchange for sexual favors.
During a séance, Vaudeline proves herself to be an authentic medium, which earns her the trust of a grieving widow. The widow reveals that a fraudulent medium, Mr. Dankwork, attempted to sexually assault her, but was stopped by Volckman. Lenna also learns that Morely himself is a ringleader of fraudulent mediums within the Society. Morely’s narration confirms this, revealing he planned to use Evie to shore up his department’s credibility.
The Final Confrontation
Lenna finally reveals her identity to Morely, who denies knowing her sister. A note from the carriage driver warns her that Morely is lying. She breaks into his study, finds Evie’s notebook, and learns the truth: her sister was writing an exposé on the Society’s malpractice. Evie was led to her death by a forged letter from Morely. Lenna discovers that Volckman, the president of the Society, was the true mastermind behind the murders of rich men to gain access to their wealth. Evie and Volckman died in a struggle in the wine cellar, and Morely hid Evie’s body, making it appear as if she was murdered separately.
The séance becomes a deadly showdown. Morely, revealed to be the killer, plans to escape an explosion, leaving everyone else to die. Lenna is possessed by Evie’s spirit, who reveals the truth about Volckman. Evie’s spirit attacks Morely, allowing Lenna, Vaudeline, and Beck to escape. Morely dies in the explosion. Lenna performs a final séance, freeing Evie’s spirit while trapping Volckman and Morely’s in a state of permanent limbo. The novel ends with Lenna and Vaudeline in a romantic relationship in Paris, with Lenna set to complete her sister’s exposé.
Symbols
Evie’s Journal and Exposé
The London Séance Society explores the idea of hidden histories, particularly those of marginalized women. Evie’s journal and exposé, which detail her daily life and her investigation of the Society, serve as a powerful symbol of these silenced histories. The men of the Society actively try to conceal her work, literally locking it away in a hidden drawer, much like how patriarchal systems have historically obscured or destroyed the stories of women and the LGBTQ+ community. Lenna’s discovery and completion of her sister’s work represent the struggle to uncover and honor these suppressed histories. By publishing the exposé, Lenna continues the work of women like Vaudeline and Evie, exposing the lies and corruption that the Society has used to maintain its power.
Evie’s Apportation
In spiritualism, an apportation is an object that appears randomly during a séance. As a skeptic, Lenna initially disbelieves in them, but she also craves the tangible proof they would provide. The only apportation to appear in the novel is an amber stone, which replaces a feather Lenna brought to the séance. This amber, “void of inclusions,” symbolizes the mended relationship between Lenna and Evie, who communicates through the stone and gives her sister a perfect gift. The flawless amber, which has no hidden history, suggests that Lenna is finally released from the need to solve her sister’s murder and can now live her own life.
Ghosts
Ghosts in the novel represent the persistence of the past and the liminal space between the living and the dead. For Lenna, ghosts initially symbolize her skepticism toward spiritualism and her longing for tangible proof. She detests the idea of believing in something without evidence, but she also desperately wants to reconnect with her loved ones who have passed away. As the story unfolds, her relationship with the concept of ghosts changes. In the climactic séance, Evie’s ghost gives her the concrete proof she always craved, but by then, Lenna no longer needs it. She has already moved beyond her need for certainty and has learned to trust in her emotions and in the spiritual world, ultimately finding peace.
Character Analysis
Lenna Wickes
Lenna Wickes is the dynamic protagonist of the novel. She begins the story as a rational, anxious woman who is skeptical of spiritualism and unsure how to reconcile her professional ambitions with her hidden desires for women. Her investigation into her sister’s death and her burgeoning romance with the medium Vaudeline D’Allaire force her to confront these internal conflicts. Through her relationship with Vaudeline, Lenna learns to trust her instincts and desires rather than just physical evidence. While she never abandons her rational mind, she gains the confidence to embrace spiritualism on her own terms. By the novel’s end, she has found a new self-assurance, expressing her full identity while retaining her autonomy.
Vaudeline D’Allaire
Vaudeline D’Allaire is a secondary character who serves as a mentor and foil to Lenna. As an accomplished medium, she uses her skills to solve mysterious deaths and guides Lenna through the world of spiritualism. In contrast to Lenna, Vaudeline is confident in her sexuality and has a wide range of life experiences. She drives much of the plot initially, but as Lenna grows in confidence and skill, Vaudeline takes a back seat, allowing her protégé to lead the investigation and hone her own abilities. Ultimately, Vaudeline provides a template for Lenna to follow, showing her a path to a life of authenticity and self-discovery.
Mr. Morely
Mr. Morely is the novel’s primary antagonist and an unreliable narrator. He initially appears as a pitiable man with a birthmark who feels isolated from society. He enters into a transactional relationship with Evie, who uses his social vulnerability and attraction to gain access to the Society. However, his true nature is revealed as the novel progresses: a misogynistic con artist motivated by financial gain. He uses the Society to exploit grieving women for their money, and his interactions with women become increasingly cruel. In the end, his deadly plan against Lenna and Vaudeline backfires, leading to his own death.
Evie Wickes
Evie Wickes is Lenna’s younger sister, an ardent spiritualist who died under mysterious circumstances. The novel’s primary timeline begins with her death, which acts as the inciting incident for the plot. Although she is absent for most of the narrative, she is a central figure who influences Lenna’s journey from a place of deep skepticism to one of belief. Her character is revealed through the memories of others and her own journal, which provides Lenna with the truth about the London Séance Society. In a dramatic climax, her ghost appears and helps Lenna defeat the antagonist, thus getting her final revenge.
🕯️ Drink Pairings for The London Séance Society
Absinthe, Dripped Slowly Over a Sugar Cube — Paris, 1873 The green fairy. The drink of artists, occultists, and people with things to hide. Vaudeline’s Paris, the abandoned châteaux on the city’s edges, the flickering candlelight of a midnight séance this is absinthe territory entirely. Ritualistic, a little dangerous, and not at all what it first appears to be.
Earl Grey, Strong, in a China Cup — Lenna at Her Most Skeptical Before the spirits. Before everything. Lenna is logical, precise, and deeply uncomfortable with anything she cannot explain. Earl Grey proper, composed, slightly astringent is her drink, drunk in a straight-backed chair while she makes notes in a notebook and refuses to believe a word anyone tells her.
Port Wine, Dark Red — The Séance Society’s Dining Room The men of the Society drink port after dinner, in rooms that smell of pipe smoke and old secrets. Rich, heavy, the color of dried blood. The drink of institutions built on exclusion and the comfortable assumption that no woman will ever look too closely at what is happening behind closed doors.
Mulled Wine, Spiced — Victorian London in the Fog Cold streets, gas lamps, the smell of coal smoke and river damp. A hot cup of mulled wine is the drink of the city itself in 1873 warming, fragrant, and just enough to take the edge off the permanent grey chill.
Champagne at Midnight — Lenna and Vaudeline in Paris at the End They make it out. They choose each other. They have work left to do and a world that doesn’t deserve them. Champagne, cold and exact, drunk very late at night in a city that suits them perfectly.
🗺️ The Book Trail — Real Locations from The London Séance Society
Here’s a quick guide to each stop on the trail:
Jardin du Palais Royal, Paris — The arcaded gardens near the Louvre capture the Paris of Vaudeline’s world perfectly: refined, secretive, and historically home to fortune tellers, booksellers, and occult practitioners throughout the 19th century. In 1873, the Palais Royal’s covered galleries were exactly the kind of place where the city’s intellectual and spiritual underworld quietly intersected. Free to visit and hauntingly beautiful.
Montmartre, Paris — The bohemian, slightly disreputable heart of 1873 Paris, home to artists, mediums, and those who existed outside polite society’s rules. This is Vaudeline’s neighbourhood, the world from which she operates, and the atmospheric starting point of the novel where an abandoned château on the city’s edge hosts the midnight séance that opens everything.
The Reform Club, Pall Mall, London — The grand Victorian gentleman’s club on Pall Mall is the closest real-world equivalent to the novel’s fictional London Séance Society: marble columns, private dining rooms, and the absolute confidence of men who never once considered that a woman might belong here. Now open to female members and well worth visiting for the sheer atmospheric weight of the building.
The British Museum, Bloomsbury — The vast reading rooms and library collections Evie would have haunted during her research, cross-referencing spiritualist societies and documenting the fraud she was determined to expose. The museum’s Egyptian and occult collections were actively growing in the 1870s, feeding Victorian London’s obsession with the afterlife. Free to visit.
Highgate Cemetery, London — The most essential stop on this entire trail. Opened in 1839 and already legendary by 1873, Highgate is where the boundary between the living and the dead feels genuinely thin. Its gothic architecture, overgrown tombs, Egyptian Avenue, and whispering trees are the exact visual language of this novel. A guided tour of the West Cemetery is unmissable and deeply atmospheric.
