Anya Bergman's The Tarot Reader of Versailles is shortlisted for the 2026 Adventure Writing Prize. 

About the Book: 

Two women. An extraordinary power. An explosive bond.

In a time of revolution, their fates will lie in the turn of a card...

It is the early days of the French Revolution and, on the streets of Paris, terror reigns.

Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand is a young woman with an extraordinary power - through her tarot cards, she can commune with the dead, revolutionaries and the aristocracy alike seeking her out to divine their fortunes. Lenormand is loyal to Marie Antoinette and the dauphin of France, but she has seen the queen's fate in the cards and must take care that it doesn't become her own.

Then, one fateful day, she comes across Cait, a scullery maid from Ireland who has travelled to Paris for love. Cait has powers too - she can read people's pasts as Lenormand reads their futures. The two young women share an electrifying connection, drawn to each other's abilities. But Cait is hiding something. What will she do - and who will she betray - to bring revolution to the shores of her beloved Ireland too?

Inspired by the astonishing true story of Marie-Anne Adelaide Lenormand, The Tarot Reader of Versailles is a sweeping, powerful novel where allegiances, betrayals and even fate itself can be forged or broken by the turn of a card...

An Interview with the Author:

WNSF: Congratulations on being selected for the 2026 Adventure Writing Prize shortlist! What does adventure writing mean to you? Would you have considered yourself an adventure writer before being shortlisted for the Prize?

Anya: Adventure writing is the ultimate escapist fiction. It is journeying into new worlds and cultures, with experiences beyond our own, and deep emotional connections with characters. Adventure writing is high-stakes fiction whether the jeopardy lies within the story world or plot, or within the emotional landscape of the protagonists. It engages both heads and hearts of readers. 

And yes, I would consider myself an adventure writer because I love to write epic historical narratives with sweeping high stakes love stories and a seam of magic realism to create intrigue and mystery. 

WNSF: Well said! Are there any particular books or authors which have made a lasting impact on you? 

Anya: I have read so many incredible books that it is hard to pick a few but the author who impacted me greatly when I started writing was Isabel Allende and her multigenerational, multiethnic novels set in South America, especially Chile, in the past. I loved her interweaving of gritty historical fact and magic realist mysticism while always putting women centre stage in her narratives. I had the great honour of meeting Isabel Allende once, and she was so graceful and generous, it had a huge impact on me.

Another book and author who had a huge impact on me was Hannah Kent, and her novel Burial Rites which is inspired by the true story of the last woman executed in Iceland. Reading this book, gave me the courage to write my novel The Witches of Vardø about witchcraft persecutions in Norway, because of Hannah’s unflinching and visceral narrative. I also met Hannah, and she has been so generous with her support for my writing. 

The last book I read which I adored was Lauren Groff’s The Vaster Wilds which is a survival story about a young maidservant who runs away from plague and famine ridden Jamestown in America in 1605. This is an adventure story of a girl’s struggle to survive in the wilderness and takes a completely unexpected turn. The ending of the story, which has stayed with me for weeks, is deeply profound and touching.  

WNSF: Can you tell us about any adventurous experiences in your life? Have they influenced you as a writer or your writing?

Anya: I have never been ‘sporty’ so I will admit I am not a snowboarder, or a mountain climber but I believe the way I have lived my life has been with a deep, quiet and adventurous spirit. My childhood was unconventional. I grew up the daughter of an unmarried Irish mother, a dancer who became a housekeeper to support me and my brother. We lived in beautiful big houses in the south of England as children of a servant (think Downtown Abbey but in the seventies) watching and listening to the dramas of other people’s lives. I have always approached life with curiosity, and have followed my heart, and instinct, over stability, security and the ‘sensible’ thing to do. Thus, I have lived in different places and done many different things to support my life of writing, always with a keen sense of adventure. 

Two experiences which I would categorise as adventurous were when I dog-sledded with my son on the arctic tundra under the northern lights. I was terrible at the dog sledding and kept getting thrown off the sled, but I had no choice but to chase after the dogs and jump back on, and eventually I got the hang of it. It was a wild and exhilarating experience!

The second experience was flying a small plane in Poland. I went to a very eccentric summer fair with some friends, and you could pay 16 euros to go up in a light aircraft with the pilot, and he would let you fly it. I absolutely loved it – was told I was a natural - even though I am quite a nervous driver. It made me wonder if I had experienced a past life as a pilot! 

WNSF: The Librarians and Library Staff who read, reviewed and selected your book for the shortlist wanted us to ask some questions on their behalf. One asked: 'I loved the settings - the descriptions of Ireland, the Normandy countryside and the bustling city of Paris. Did you travel while you were writing the novel for research? Did you work from photos or historical records?'

Anya: Yes, absolutely I travelled when researching The Tarot Reader of Versailles. Even if your book is set hundreds of years in the past, and the location has changed a lot over the centuries, I feel it is crucial to do some research on the ground. Always, you will discover authentic details, which you can’t achieve through reading books or looking at photographs. 

I have already been to Normandy, Paris and Versailles a few times, but I went over specifically to do research including a private group tour of Marie Antoinette’s hidden rooms in Versailles and visiting lots of locations in the novel from finding the location of Lenormand’s bookshop to following in Marie Antoinette’s last journey from La Conciergerie to where she was guillotined. 

I live in County Kerry in Ireland where Caitlin’s story begins so all I needed to do was walk out the door to immerse myself in the landscape. One of the most useful things I did was a visit to Bantry House, where I learned a great deal about life for servants in the Big House in the late 18th century in Ireland. 

WNSF: Another said: 'I didn’t know much about the French Revolution period so I was excited to read something set then. What drew you to this period of history? Was it daunting to take on a period of such huge civil upheaval?'

Anya: Yes, it was very daunting! So many great historians have written about The French Revolution, and there is a big responsibility to make it as authentic as possible. I studied it at school, and ever since then, have been fascinated by how something which started with such good intent turned into a bloody terror. I always want to take a fresh perspective on whatever historical period I am writing about, and after looking at primary sources, I realised how many women were involved in the French Revolution and how history has misrepresented them from Marie Antoinette to Olympe de Gouges who wrote a declaration of rights for women to radicals such as Claire Lacombe and Pauline Leon. 

WNSF: Another asked: 'I loved El and Cait. Do you see yourself in either of them? How do you go about building characters?'

Anya: I believe there is probably a little part of me in all the protagonists of my novels, and I identify with El and Cait at different points in the book. I love El’s independent spirit and enterprise, while Cait’s passion for equality and justice, and the flaws in her relationships with Reilly and El, are also very identifiable. 

Building characters can be a very intuitive process, almost like getting to know a real person. With El, I had the real history of Mademoiselle Lenormand to draw upon in my creation of her character, and with Cait I was inspired by the male figure of Wolf Tone, who was so passionate about Irish Independence. But beyond these historical resources, I also work with Tarot cards and elements to create characters. For instance, the Sun card and the High Priestess represent El, and she is also a Gemini - an Air sign – and this tells me a lot about her – the aloof wise woman, the external appearance of success and bounty, looking to the future. Cait is the Moon card, a Gemini too (as they are born on the same day) and she is also represented by The Strength card. This tells me she is more mercurial, secretive, looking into the past, and that, though challenged, she ultimately shows great strength, and ability to protect others like a lioness. 

WNSF: Finally, one said: 'I liked the explanation of the different tarot reading styles. Is this something you already had an interest in? Do you visit tarot readers yourself?'

Anya: I am a tarot reader myself! I taught myself how to read tarot cards when I was a teenager and have worked with them professionally for over 30 years. For instance, when I first lived in Dublin, I had a tarot reading stall in a market, and during the pandemic I did a lot of online readings. I usually get another tarot reader to read my own cards as it is hard to be objective about your own reading! I find Tarot is helpful as an affirmative practice, a tool for self-awareness and self-care to help clients empower themselves to make their own decisions. It is also great for unlocking creativity, and I use tarot cards to structure my novels. In The Tarot Reader of Versailles all the tarot spreads are created by myself. 

WNSF: That's fascinating! Thanks Anya. Given that your novel is historical fiction, how do you make sure your characters, their voice and actions, sit comfortably within the historical context? 

Anya: I read primary sources to help me create authentic characters so for The Tarot Reader of Versailles I looked at Wolfe Tone’s Journal and Grace Eliot’s memoir of her experiences during the French Revolution. In this way, I hope to achieve the cadence and tone of my characters’ voices, but of course it also needs to be accessible to modern readers. 

I believe in touching across time to queer readers, and those from diverse backgrounds, and creating characters in my books who are missing in historical records because these records, and most historical books have come from one particular tradition – male, straight and white - and do not necessarily create an authentic picture because of their bias. This is the same reason I am interested in delving into female agency and women’s stories in the past, to raise voices of women who have been silenced by history.  

WNSF: What would you say is the hardest thing about writing? And the easiest?

Anya: I think one of the biggest challenges as a writer is negotiating imposter syndrome – the voice inside your head telling you that you’re not ‘good’ enough. Just knowing that this is something which happens to EVERY writer helps you to know you are not alone. Imposter syndrome will never go away, and this is not such a bad thing as it keeps us on our toes always striving to improve our craft and not being complacent. 

But what I find the hardest thing about writing is the intensity of my workload sometimes. It is challenging to make a living out of being a full-time professional writer especially if you are a single income household. Therefore, most of us have other income streams. I am very lucky to be a lecturer in creative writing, which I love, but this does mean to meet my writing deadlines, I must work very long hours. It would be great if professional writers could make a living from their books alone! 

One of the easiest things for me are ideas. I have SO many ideas for new books and wish I could magically write them all immediately. The best high is when I am fully immersed in the creative flow of a book (usually this happens in draft 2 as draft 1 is pretty painful!). I get on such a high and find it hard to stop – the experience is completely intoxicating!  

WNSF: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions, Anya. And congratulations again on being shortlisted for the Prize. 

Buy the Book:

About the Author: 

Anya Bergman is the internationally bestselling Irish author of The Witches of Vardø. She has published ten novels under her real name Noelle Harrison and possesses a doctorate from Edinburgh Napier University, where she is also a Lecturer in Creative Writing. Anya has been reading Tarot Cards professionally for over thirty years.

What Our Reviewers Said:

"The themes of independence, both with the French Revolution and the Catholc-Protostant wars added a rich historical narrative, that cemented the fantastical elements into the factual."

"I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with a feminist slant. The author's research into the period and political events was clearly extensive and the fact that it was inspired by a true story was intriguing - I love novels that send you off to look up historical details!"