About the Book
Plain Bad Heroines is a queer gothic novel by Emily M. Danforth that weaves together two timelines roughly a century apart. The first follows a group of girls at a New England boarding school in the early 1900s, where a series of strange and deadly events unfold after two students form an intense bond over a shared book. The second timeline is set in the present day, where a film adaptation of those events is being made, pulling a new cast of characters into the orbit of the same cursed history.
The book has a self-aware quality throughout. It plays with the conventions of gothic fiction and queer horror while also commenting on them, which gives it an unusual texture. It is genuinely funny in places, unsettling in others, and deliberately excessive in both. The horror elements are real but filtered through a knowing, literary sensibility. Readers looking for straightforward scares may find the pace slower than expected.
This is a standalone novel, not part of a series. At well over 600 pages in print, it is a long book with a lot of atmospheric digression built in. That length is part of the design, Danforth is writing in a tradition of verbose, ornate gothic fiction, but it does mean the audiobook represents a substantial time commitment.
Narration & Audio Performance
Xe Sands is an experienced audiobook narrator with a strong track record in literary fiction, and her work here suits the material. Her tone is measured and somewhat dry, which pairs well with the book's ironic narrative voice. The story is told by an unnamed narrator who frequently addresses the reader directly, and Sands handles those shifts without making them feel awkward or stagey.
The dual timeline structure requires the narration to hold two distinct atmospheres, the early 20th century boarding school sections and the contemporary Hollywood sections, and Sands manages the tonal contrast reasonably well. She doesn't lean into melodrama, which is probably the right call for a book that is already aware of its own gothic excess. Character differentiation is adequate, though the large cast means some voices blend together in the contemporary sections.
Listeners sensitive to deliberate pacing should be aware that this is a slow-burn narration for a slow-burn book. Sands doesn't rush the prose, and Danforth's sentences are often long and layered. If you're unsure whether the rhythm works for you, the Audible sample is a practical way to test it before committing.
The Audible Verdict
Plain Bad Heroines is a well-regarded piece of queer gothic fiction, and Xe Sands is a competent narrator who handles the material with care. The audiobook works, but this is a long, digressive book with dense prose and a knowing literary voice that some listeners will absorb better in print, where they can set their own pace and revisit passages. The audio format is a reasonable choice, not an obvious one, free trial credit is the right level of commitment here.
Listen on AudibleIs This Book a Good Fit for Audio?
The dual timeline structure is manageable in audio because the transitions are clearly signalled and the overall narrative logic is linear within each strand. There are no charts, footnotes, or visual elements that are essential to the reading experience. The gothic atmosphere, heavy on mood and setting, can translate well when narration is handled with the right tone.
The bigger challenge is the length and prose density. Danforth writes in elaborate, layered sentences, and the book runs long by design. In print, readers can skim, pause, or reread. In audio, you are locked into the narrator's pace. For listeners who do well with literary fiction in audio format, especially on long commutes or during low-attention tasks, this works fine. For listeners who tend to zone out during slower passages, a book this long and this deliberate may lose them.
Popular Listener Questions
Is Plain Bad Heroines part of a series?
No. It is a standalone novel. No prior reading is required.
Is this book horror, or more literary fiction?
It sits between the two. The gothic and horror elements are genuine, there are deaths, curses, and real dread, but the book is also deeply literary and self-referential. Readers expecting pure horror may find it too slow; readers expecting quiet literary fiction may find it more unsettling than expected.
Is the queer content central to the story or incidental?
It is central. Both timelines follow queer female characters, and the book engages directly with the history of queer experience, desire, and how queer stories get told and retold. This is not a book where queerness is a background detail.
Does the dual timeline structure cause confusion in audio?
The two timelines are set about a century apart and have distinct settings, so they are easy enough to track. The transitions are clear. It is not a structurally difficult listen in the way that some multi-perspective novels can be.
Similar Audiobooks
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Danforth's debut novel also centers queer female experience in an institutional setting, a good introduction to her voice if you want to try before committing to Plain Bad Heroines.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia's novel shares the gothic atmosphere, unsettling horror underpinned by social critique, and a deliberate literary pace. A natural companion listen.
The Little Stranger
Sarah Waters, who praised Plain Bad Heroines, writes in a similar tradition of slow, atmospheric gothic fiction. If you enjoy Waters, Danforth's approach will feel familiar.
Plain Bad Heroines shares DNA with
Readers who responded to Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts, which also plays with horror conventions and narrative self-awareness, often respond well to Danforth's approach.
Wilder Girls
Rory Power's debut is a shorter, faster-paced queer horror novel set in an isolated school. It appeals to a similar readership and works well as a companion or entry point to the genre.
Audiobook Details
| Title | Plain Bad Heroines |
|---|---|
| Author | Emily M. Danforth |
| Narrator | Xe Sands |
| Genre | Queer Gothic Horror |
| Year | 2021 |
| Publisher | HarperCollins UK |
| Abridged | Unabridged |
| Cast | Single narrator |
| Author-narrated | No |
Ready to listen?
Plain Bad Heroines is available on Audible with Xe Sands narrating, a reasonable use of a free trial credit if queer gothic fiction is your kind of thing.
Open on Audible