In Notes on the Untimely Death of Ronia Drake, a witch is haunted by the deadly repercussions of a spell. The Insect and the Astronomer upends expectations about good and bad, knowledge and ignorance, love and longing. The World Fantasy Award-winning novella The Unlicensed Magician introduces the secret magical life of an invisible girl once left for dead - with thematic echoes of Barnhill’s Newbery Medal-winning novel, The Girl Who Drank the Moon.

With bold, reality-bending invention underscored by richly illuminated universal themes of love, death, jealousy, and hope, the stories in Dreadful Young Ladies show why its author has been hailed as a fantasist on the order of Neil Gaiman (Minneapolis Star Tribune). This collection cements Barnhill’s place as one of the wittiest, most vital and compelling voices in contemporary literature.