The Lost Tarot

Cover design by Kate Sinclair for Doubleday

Coming June 2024 from Doubleday. Available for preorder.

A legendary set of cards is the key to unravelling decades of secrets in this dazzling novel about the power of art and deception, from Governor General's Award–winning author Sarah Henstra.

Theresa Bateman, a struggling junior art historian in Toronto, receives a single tarot card in the mail. The image is unmistakably the work of celebrated avant-garde artist Lark Ringold, and its discovery would mean a breakthrough in Theresa's career. But the legendary Ringold Tarot doesn't exist. . . . Its paintings were lost in a fire that claimed Lark's life along with dozens of others—the final, horrific implosion of a notorious cult called the Shown.

Sixty years earlier in England, Lark and his twin sister Nell join a bohemian commune led by their charismatic uncle. While Lark settles happily into his work on the tarot project to aid in his uncle's occult teachings, Nell finds it harder to adjust. Just beneath the Shown's golden surface she uncovers secrets that, if revealed, threaten to erupt into chaos.

Why was the tarot card sent to Theresa? How can she prove its connection to Ringold when her art-world superiors declare it a fake? And who has been holding onto it for all these years—and why? As Theresa follows the trail of the lost tarot, she is drawn into the deeply entwined mysteries of Nell, Lark and the Shown. What begins as the tale of one artist and the battle over his legacy unspools into a web of passion, violence and deceit. In twist after startling twist, and in vibrant, exquisite prose, The Lost Tarot is a landmark novel about love, creativity, power and perception.

“Sarah Henstra writes gorgeously: her words are poetic, precise, vibrant; more importantly, they cast a magical net over the reader and draw them in tight. The Lost Tarot is offbeat, quirky, and powerfully beguiling—a glittering treasure of a book. I absolutely loved it."

—Jane Johnson, bestselling author of The Sea Gate and The White Hare

“This intriguing novel takes us into an artworld in which the surrealists were painting women as dolls and puppets. Henstra describes a dark cult driven by disguises and deceptions and manipulations to explore the blurry line between artist and acolyte. Part quest, part aesthetic reflection, Henstra’s fiction reveals the stories hidden beneath the artist’s brush stroke. A fascinating read.”

—Kim Echlin, author of The Disappeared and Speak, Silence

“The Lost Tarot is as intricate and beautiful as a gilded jewelry box with secret compartments. Just when you think you've got hold of the story and where it's going, it reveals another layer. Lyrical and propulsive, it contains some of the most evocative considerations of art (what makes it, who makes it, and why) that I have ever read."

—Kate Cayley, Trillium Award-winning author of How You Were Born and Lent

“Two women battle the secrets and lies that prevent them from making their way in the world. The Lost Tarot criss-crosses time and place, bringing them both right into the room with you as you read.”

—Kate Pullinger, Governor General’s Literary Award-winning author of The Mistress of Nothing and Forest Green

“Splendid, spirited and full of transformative magic, Sarah Henstra’s The Lost Tarot entangles mysteries of academia, art-making and the occult with a thoughtful meditation on seeing in a sinister and astonishing world. It weaves a twisty and engrossing web. I couldn’t put it down!”

—Catherine Bush, author of Accusation and Blaze Island