D.H. Dhaenens' "Lockhart Mansion" review

The Spooky Month is almost over and this may be the most that I’ve engaged with spookiness in all my life. Not least thanks to Lockhart Mansion, a comedy horror novel written by D.H. Dhaenens which throws the readers in the middle of the world that is lolita fashion. But let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

Photo by Kat.

The Beginnings

Lockhart Mansion is a book that was launched as a Kickstarter campaign. You can find the Kickstarter page here where you can not only read about the project and its author, but also watch amazing promotional video materials.

Considering the niche nature of lolita fashion, even in cases where agents and publishers are interested, launching the book via Kickstarter felt like a great choice. This meant that the book could be delivered without watering down any content that appeals to lolitas and without worrying any publishers over whether this would hit the sales target. The campaign either gets funded or it doesn’t - and thankfully, this one did and even exceeded its original goal. One of the amazing perks available with certain tiers was the tea party organised for the book’s launch, which yours truly has attended. However, instead of writing up a report, I vlogged the event, which you will find below:

And in case any of you were worried - D.H. Dhaenens, the author, is a lolita herself and has been an active wearer of the fashion for years. So rest assured that all of the fashion representation is absolutely accurate and no outsider misinformation is being spread in Lockhart Mansion.

The Book

In short, the book is about three lolita friends: Ramona, George, and Valiant, who move into a small-town mansion that is rumoured to be haunted. Considering that they are university students and lolitas, every bit of money that they can save is good, so dealing with hauntings seems a small price to pay for someplace with low rent, right? As this is comedy horror rather than full-on horror, don’t worry, you won’t find any gruesome descriptions of lolitas having to ruin their brand to clean a ruin of a property or get their lace torn off by clawed hands creeping out from under their beds - nonetheless moving in to a place that may or may not have a ghost living with you makes one want to hug their Usakumya just a little bit tighter.

Usakumyas are also confirmed to be hooked on this book, so don't lag behind!
Photo by Alex DeDuck.

The Review

To cut to the chase, as a self-confessed avoider of all things horror, I would’ve gobbled this book up in a day if only adulting didn’t get in the way. The writing is wonderfully light and flows effortlessly, meaning that before you know it, you’re a hundred pages deep and really don’t want to put the book down. There are plenty of twists and turns, some of which had me literally gasping with shock, and whilst the book is about paranormal stuff as much as it is about lolita fashion, the events unfold in a surprisingly realistic way (paranormal stuff excluded, of course). That normality of the setting is in itself a fantastic contrast to the resolution of each arc, altogether resulting in what I would describe as quite a heartwarming book that, if your typical horror entities were actually real, feels very grounded in real life. Or, to put it more straightforwardly, if horror creatures were real, the entire setting of lolitas based in Southern England further normalises how natural it is to have ghosts and what not live amongst us.

And we cannot talk about the book without mentioning the wonderful cast of characters. The reader gets to view the world and the unfolding events from the perspective of each of them and even if they were completely new to the world of lolita fashion, they would certainly not mix Ramona, George, and Valiant up. Their personalities shine through the narration, split into their respective points of view, so that you get to know these girls intimately and recognise them in dialogues very quickly. They are as complex as any person you or I may know, more than the mere stereotype of their preferred lolita substyle without being forced to go completely against it. Valiant is still the sweet lolita regardless of whether she’s all bubbly at a meetup or listening to heavy metal in her bedroom. George is ever the moody goth, but with a practical approach to life that is far from becoming the brooding witch of their new haunted residence. And as our first narrator of these three, the reader quickly gets a sense that Ramona balances being rational and grounded with the typical indecision characteristic of chameleon lolitas.

All the other supporting characters, whether they appear for a mere moment or return later, are as vivid and recognisable as the main cast. Unfortunately, I can’t mention my favourite here without giving away some key parts of the plot, so if/when you’ve read Lockhart Mansion and want to exchange notes, let me know, I would love to chat with people about this book! An important thing to add here is that one of the reward tiers included the option of being written into the book as a background character. Those supporters are listed at the back of the book, though you can spot them just as easily without that reference as they are introduced not only by name, but also with a brief introduction of what they are wearing. These inserts further cement the setting as a very real place with real people occupying it beyond our protagonists, so they won’t jerk you out of the world like a rude YouTube ad would, nonetheless for those people who were written in to Lockhart Mansion this will be a wonderful moment of “hey, it’s me, I’m in this”.

Speaking of which, lolita fashion is as important to this book as the three girls who wear it and as the haunted mansion they choose to live in. I wouldn’t go quite so far as to say that it’s integral to the plot, however, it is definitely what makes the heart of Lockhart Mansion beat loud and clear. To those of us already engaging with lolita fashion, this book feels like the sort of representation that we wanted to see: it’s a story that is about us, with the name dropping, the references, and the in-jokes that make up what it is to be in lolita fashion. Ramona, George, and Valiant don’t just dress frilly and that’s it. They wear Metamorphose and accessorise with Usakumyas. They attend meetups and talk about being outbid on Lacemarket. They go through the rites of passage of explaining their fashion and the inner bracing of oneself when they sense that conversation or judgement coming their way. All of the things that real life lolitas do and deal with are included in this book as seamlessly as if the entire thing was pulled straight out of real life.

At the same time, in order to make navigating this world easier for non-lolita readers, there are footnotes to help with the unfamiliar terms and concepts. Whilst glossaries at the end are a more common technique, which has been used e.g. in Erin Grammar’s Magic Mutant Nightmare Girl, unless you have a physical copy in your hands they’re not always the most convenient, even if they can be more expansive. Lockhart Mansion prioritised providing an explanation immediately over explaining everything, so whilst there are plenty of things that a non-lolita reader would have to deduce (mostly brand names), they won’t get overwhelmed with an entire list of terms, some of which may not even appear in the book more than once, if at all. And the footnotes in themselves are as humorous and fun as the book itself, so lolita readers can still enjoy them.

I could sing praises for Lockhart Mansion for quite some time, though not without edging dangerously close to spoiler territory, so I will wrap the review up here. Needless to say I have enjoyed it from start to finish and I can genuinely envision myself returning to it when in need of light entertainment. Whilst it’s hard for me to determine how accessible non-lolita readers would find it, I encourage everyone interested in it to give it a chance. And certainly all lolitas should add it to their bookshelf and reading list! This is a whole lot of fun that will put a smile on your face.

Lockhart Mansion will be available to purchase here in paperback and e-book formats, so that wherever you live, you should be able to obtain a copy. And if for whatever reason you can’t, then drop Flammable Penguins Publishing a message via their Instagram. As a small publisher, I have no doubts that they will do everything to make sure that you can purchase the book. It should be out by the end of this month, so if it isn’t up yet, check on Halloween itself and follow Flammable Penguins for updates!