Brimstone Is a Spellbinding Historical Fantasy That Ignites Empthy

Fantasy and science fiction have often been a lens through which we can view the darkest aspects of human nature, but truly, no genre is more suited for the practice than historical fiction, which is, at least, on the spectrum of the speculative. Historical fiction takes inspiration from events that did happen and distills the truth of an era by offering what might have happened. In Brimstone, award-winning author Cherie Priest, a mistress of many genres—horror, southern gothic, science fiction, and steampunk—melds historical fiction with the fantastical, and makes magic.
Brimstone begins with a real historical setting, the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp of Central Florida, founded in the 1870s by traveling spiritualist George Colby, who made it into a gathering place for believers in seances and fortunetelling (the camp still operates as a tax-exempt church), grounding a tale that touches on themes of love and redemption while giving a voice to those often marginalized. The story is told from the points of view of two very different individuals, Alice Dartle and Tomás Cordero. It’s 1920, and the country is still reeling from the aftermath of the Great War. Alice, a clairvoyant descended from a long line of witches, seeks help understanding and controlling her powers, defying the conventional role for a woman of her era, and finds her way to Cassadaga. She hopes to learn to use her powers to help others, and lately, she’s been haunted by visions of a man who dreams about fire and war. She believes she can help him, if only she can find him.

Tomás is a Cuban immigrant who fought for the United States during the war. He returned from the front lines “shell-shocked”—a condition we’d label post-traumatic stress disorder today—a condition worsened by his discovery that his beloved wife died of the flu while he was gone. He returns to his tailoring business and makes an effort to get on with his life, but soon, he seems to fall victim to a strange plague of unexplainable fires. They have no obvious starting point when they erupt near him, and they only worsen, until eventually they begin to claim lives. Stranger still, Tomás believes  his dead wife is sending him messages in the ashes the fires leave. When Tomás sees Alice’s picture in a newsletter about Cassadaga, he somehow knows she’s the one who can help him.
While Alice and Tomás hunt for the cause of these supernatural events, Priest shows us how they struggle due to their status as outsiders in the respective societies. Alice is desperate to find people who can accept her for who and what she is. It’s difficult for her to trust the others in the camp because she’s not used to being open about her spiritual gifts, constantly concerned about being vilified or even burned at the stake like her ancestors. (Her mother, meanwhile, just wants her to marry a nice man, settle down, and forget all this clairvoyance business.) Tomás lives in fear due to his immigrant status; despite the fact that he’s a citizen and even fought on behalf of his adopted country, he fears he will be blamed for the fires because he’s Cuban, and non-white. He flees not only to seek help, but to avoid possible arrest. Alice is similarly plagued by fear of reprisal because of her extraordinary gifts. The seemingly supernatural fires appear to lend credence to her unease.

Although Alice and Tomás are fictional characters, they experience versions of the very real horrors that marginalized people experienced in the 1920s—and still experience today. In America, people are still persecuted for their race and religion, every single day. Fiction that gives voice to their fears is important, because empathy is important. I’d argue we’re at a place in history where it’s vitally important. Alice and Tomás’s stories, told in the first person in diary format, engage us in their lives, and in their distresses. We feel for them as they encounter darkness within themselves, and in the society around them.
Cherie Priest is a deft storyteller in any genre, and history really does come alive when she puts pen to paper. Brimstone, in particular, will appeal to those who enjoy a bit of strange history to go along with their magic.
Brimstone is available April 4.