The Glowing Hours Book Review

by Catalina Bonati

2.25/5 stars

The Glowing Hours by Leila Siddiqui (to be published in 2026) is a paranormal historical story that centers on Mehrunissa Begum, an Indian woman of a high-ranking family, who after her mother’s death must travel to England to inform her brother of his inheritance. Upon her arrival, she finds that neither her brother and her father are there to take her in and so she must stay at a home for Indian ayas. As time goes on, she takes the job of housemaid at the home of none other than the Shelleys. She accompanies Percy and Mary Shelley to Switzerland where they meet with Lord Byron and John Polidori and stay at the lavish Diodati villa. Here, they all find themselves to be physically haunted by the ghosts of their pasts and must break from the spells that hold them to the villa.

Mehr is a complex character who believes herself to be superior to others while still having a small form of empathy, which makes her mildly unlikable as she refuses to adapt to new surroundings. She has a strange relationship with Mary Shelley, which is close yet distant at the same time. They share a short sapphic moment together, but the book is not queer nor is it any sort of focus. There are a few situations which feel manufactured to place Mehr at the center of the action, such as Byron inviting her to participate in their evenings of creation, despite her being a housemaid and being historically unlikely. There are also many unexplained events in this book which are big plot holes that are never addressed, such as the mystery of the woman in the painting or the random ghost lady that first appears to Mehr. The actions of Byron and Percy near the ending do not make any sense at all and are ridiculous and a huge plot hole.

In this story, Lord Byron and Percy Shelley are depicted as bullies to the women around them and to John Polidori. The main antagonist is Byron, who is a sexist narcissist drunk on his own money and fame. Mehr also experiences racism from the very first time she sets foot on the boat to Byron’s assumptions that he knows about Mehr because she is Muslim. Byron’s aggressions are always dark and cruel, but for some reason Mary, Claire, and Polidori put up with him. Many elements and events of this book are unexplained, which makes them unsurprising and underdeveloped. The ghosts themselves do not have enough backdrop to make them impactful. The hauntings are not gradual, but they occur from the first and to different extents which makes them seem disjointed. In this story, Mary Shelley is almost completely lacking in will or in power. She seems uncritical and accepting of her role in the sidelines, unacknowledged in her creativity or her ideas. This book also starts off with a strong plot, but it seems to diffuse as it advances. Halfway through the plot becomes tenuous.

I liked that this book gives John Polidori his due, as he the most overlooked Gothic writer of the group. The writing style is strong and stylistic, however, these element cannot surmount the shortcomings of the plot. This is book is overall a nod to the Gothic in Mary Shelley and Percy Shelley’s writings and the legacy that they have left behind through a paranormal take on their stay in Switzerland. Novels on the British romanticism writers are not very many and this book fills this gap, yet its lack of explanations and failure to bridge gaps lower the quality of the story. 

This book was received as an ARC.