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Emma Newman

“JK Rowling meets Georgette Heyer” in this series debut, a scintillating fusion of urban fantasy and court intrigue from the Hugo Award-winning author (The Guardian).

Between Mundanus, the world of humans, and Exilium, the world of the Fae, lies the Nether, a mirror-world where the social structure of 19th-century England is preserved by Fae-touched families who remain loyal to their ageless masters. Born into this world is Catherine Rhoeas-Papaver, who escapes it all to live a normal life in Mundanus, free from her parents and the strictures of Fae-touched society. But now she’s being dragged back to face an arranged marriage, along with all the high society trappings it entails. 

 Crossing paths with Cathy is Max, an Arbiter of the Split Worlds treaty with a dislocated soul who polices the boundaries between the worlds, keeping innocents safe from the Fae. After a spree of kidnappings and the murder of his fellow Arbiters, Max is forced to enlist Cathy’s help in unravelling a high-profile disappearance within the Nether. Getting involved in the machinations of the Fae, however, may prove fatal to all involved. 

 “Between Two Thorns shows the darkness beneath the glamour of the social Season. Learning to be a young lady has never seemed so dangerous.”—Mary Robinette Kowal, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of the Lady Astronaut series
 “Emma Newman has built a modern fantasy world with such élan and authority her ideas of why and how the seemingly irrational world of Fairy works should be stolen by every other writer in the field . . . This book of wonders is first rate.”—Bill Willingham, Eisner Award-winning author of Fables

Diversion Books

The Split Worlds

Between Two Thorns

Now in one volume: the first three novels in the urban fantasy series “that playfully mixes magic and interesting characters into an intriguing mystery” (Kirkus Reviews).

 Between Mundanus, the world of humans, and Exilium, the world of the Fae, lies the Nether, a mirror-world where the social structure of 19th-century England is preserved by Fae-touched families who remain loyal to their ageless masters. Born into this world is Catherine Rhoeas-Papaver, who escapes it all to live a normal life in Mundanus, free from her parents and the strictures of Fae-touched society. But now she’s being dragged back to face an arranged marriage, along with all the high society trappings it entails. 

 Crossing paths with Cathy is Max, an Arbiter of the Split Worlds treaty with a dislocated soul who polices the boundaries between the worlds, keeping innocents safe from the Fae. After a spree of kidnappings and the murder of his fellow Arbiters, Max is forced to enlist Cathy’s help in unravelling a high-profile disappearance within the Nether. Getting involved in the machinations of the Fae, however, may prove fatal to all involved. The Split Worlds Omnibus—spanning Between Two Thorns, Any Other Name, and All Is Fair—presents the intricately plotted and delightfully suspenseful world Emma Newman has crafted.

Praise for the Split Worlds series

“JK Rowling meets Georgette Heyer . . . Newman renders the Split Worlds with verve and an infectious sense of fun, and presents in Cathy a strong and personable heroine.”—The Guardian
 “Learning to be a young lady has never seemed so dangerous.”—Mary Robinette Kowal, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of the Lady Astronaut series

A Split Worlds Omnibus: Between Two Thorns, Any Other Name, and All Is Fair

Second in the series that “weav[es] magic, mystery, and parallel worlds together with ease” (Adam Christopher, author of the official Stranger Things tie-in novels).

Thought-provoking, wonderfully inventive, and filled with treachery and mystery, the soaring second book in the Split Worlds Series pulls Cathy, Will, Max, and Sam deeper into the twisted world of Fae-touched society. 

 Cathy has been reluctantly married into the Iris family and moves to Londinium, the magical Nether reflection of London, setting her on a collision course with the restrictive, high-pressure social circles that demand propriety and obedience, things the vocal and free-spirited Cathy cannot abide. Will, meanwhile, is trying to find a compromise for his new bride, but whispers in his ear are urging him towards dark deeds . . . 

 Sam, determined to dive back into the world of Exilium to rescue innocents, crosses paths with Cathy and Max once again as Max and the gargoyle uncover more information about the mysterious Agency and the chain of events that wiped out the Bath Chapter. Sacrifices, terrible deals, and dreadful revelations mark this second installment of Emma Newman’s wondrous Split Worlds series.

Praise for the Split Worlds series

“JK Rowling meets Georgette Heyer.”—The Guardian

“Emma Newman has built a modern fantasy world with such élan and authority her ideas of why and how the seemingly irrational world of Fairy works should be stolen by every other writer in the field.”—Bill Willingham, Eisner Award-winning author of Fables
 “Learning to be a young lady has never seemed so dangerous.”—Mary Robinette Kowal, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of the Lady Astronaut series

Any Other Name

Third in the series that’s “an intriguing mix of modern world, Victorian/Regency England, and faery” from the Hugo Award-winning author of Any Other Name (Locus).

Caught in the insidious designs of powerful puppet-masters and playing a life-or-death game for control, Cathy and her comrades face their greatest challenge yet: changing the balance of power in the Split Worlds.

Now at the heart of the Londinium Court, deceit and murder track Will’s steps as he assumes his new role as Duke. Faced with threats to his throne and his life, the consequences of his bloody actions are already coming back to haunt him . . .

Meanwhile, Cathy, wrestling with the constraints of the Agency and Dame Iris, comes to terms with her new status in Fae-touched society and seeks others who feel just as restricted by its outdated social rules. As Max works with Cathy to uncover the horrors that underpin the culture, he bears witness as the final blow is struck against the last Sorcerers in Albion . . .
 “Put as simply as I can manage, this book is wonderful . . . Everything is bigger, better, more spectacular . . . but at the same time the character development that I’d hoped for is given, and it’s given incredibly well.”—Over the Effing Rainbow 

 “There’s lots of action in this one, but there’s still all of the court intrigue and wonderful characterization that I’ve come to expect from the series, and a few very important threads are wrapped up. Don’t worry, though, the ending leaves plenty of hints of things to come, and I can’t wait.”—My Bookish Ways

The Split Worlds - The book series

The Split Worlds - The book series

The Split Worlds books in order

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