Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Themes
Synopsis
Flowers in the Attic is a 1979 Gothic novel by V. C. Andrews. It is the first book in the Dollanganger Series. The novel is written in the first-person, from the point of view of Cathy Dollanganger. In 1993, Flowers in the Attic was awarded the Secondary BILBY Award. In 2003 the book was listed on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's 200 "best-loved novels."
Flowers in the Attic: content & age rating
Intended for adult readers (18+).
This gothic novel contains deeply disturbing content including incest, child abuse, prolonged captivity of children, and psychological manipulation by family members. The mature themes and traumatic situations make it appropriate only for adult readers.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, moderate sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include sexual assault, child abuse, child harm, incest, and emotional abuse (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
A haunting gothic story about siblings locked away by their own family, forced to survive in isolation.