Little Darlings (Golding novel)
A thriller exploring changeling folklore and maternal anxiety.
Little Darlings is a 2019 thriller novel by British writer Melanie Golding about a new mother who suspects that a supernatural entity is attempting to abduct her children. It received a 2019 Dragon Award for Best Horror Novel.
Quick Facts
- Author
- Melanie Golding
- Published
- April 30, 2019
- Genre
- Thriller
- Language
- English
- Publisher
- HarperCollins (Canada), Crooked Lane Books (US and UK)
Facts from the source article.
Background
Little Darlings, Melanie Golding's first novel, draws on changeling folklore—the idea that fairies swap human babies for their own. Golding was motivated by her belief that these old stories might have been used to describe postpartum psychosis before modern medicine existed. Conversations with psychologists and other mothers revealed to her that the bond between mother and child often develops slowly, contradicting the widespread notion of an instant "rush of love" at birth, which she calls a contemporary myth. She initially started a modern-day short story about changelings because the folklore unsettled her, but it grew into a full novel. Her research showed that similar tales appear in many different cultures. The book was completed as part of her creative writing master's degree at Bath Spa University. Golding aimed to portray pregnancy and childbirth without glossing over the difficulties, feeling that the physical challenges are frequently minimized. After her own delivery, she realized she had been given unrealistic expectations, so she gave her protagonist a typical birth experience that honestly reflects the pain and struggle. She also pointed out that the fiction she had read rarely included negative birth stories. The setting, the fictional town of Selverton, is modeled on the real village of Ashopton, which was flooded to create the Ladybower Reservoir.
Plot
Lauren Tranter wakes up in the maternity ward after delivering twin boys. A stranger approaches her and threatens to swap Lauren’s babies for her own fish-like children. The hospital staff dismiss the incident. Back home, Lauren struggles to heal from a difficult birth while managing her duties as a stay-at-home mother, with her husband Patrick offering little help. Her claims that the woman is following her are written off as a mental break. Only detective Jo Harper takes her seriously and begins looking into the case, uncovering a similar event from four decades earlier. When Lauren’s sons vanish, police find them, but Lauren becomes convinced the infants are fakes swapped for her real children. She tries to drown the babies in a reservoir, thinking this will force the return of her kidnapped sons, and is committed to a psychiatric hospital.
Publication history
HarperCollins paid Golding a six-figure sum for the novel, which hit shelves on April 30, 2019. HarperCollins handled the Canadian release, while Crooked Lane Books published it in the US and UK. Jo Harper, a character in this book, later turned up in Golding’s second novel, The Hidden. Before the book was even published, British director Roger Michell had bought film rights and started drafting a screenplay. Deadline Hollywood reported in 2018 that Michell and producer Kevin Loader were working on a film adaptation. Michell passed away in 2021.
Reception
Critics largely welcomed the novel, commending its storyline, unsettling atmosphere, character work, and its deep dive into the fears surrounding childbirth and parenthood. The story’s conclusion is deliberately unclear, leaving readers to wonder if the strange events stem from the supernatural or from the protagonist Lauren’s own mental state. Golding has stated she leaned into this uncertainty, crafting the narrative so that both explanations could be true. Kirkus Reviews awarded the book a starred review, noting its ability to balance psychological and supernatural horror. Joe Hartlaub of Book Reporter called it a terrifying yet compelling read. The novel appeared on multiple 2019 lists of top thrillers, and Hailey Swint of PopSugar named it one of thirteen thrillers she believed deserved a film adaptation. It took home the Best Horror Novel prize at the 2019 Dragon Awards and was a finalist for Best Debut at the 2019 Ladies of Horror Fiction Awards.
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