Set in Paris, India and Calcutta, this delightful picaresque adventure owes something to both Kim and Kidnapped. Written in bracing C18th language by a genius.
The Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins descends on seventeen-century Essex, where he finds himself oddly fascinated by a 'peculiar' young woman. A historical novel with real bite, which rec... read more
Reminiscent of S?skind's Perfume or Andrew Miller's Ingenious Pain, this is set in C18th France and involves a physical prodigy. In this case, it is his ability to eat... By the author of Th... read more
The Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins descends on seventeen-century Essex, where he finds himself oddly fascinated by a 'peculiar' young woman. A historical novel with real bite, which rec... read more
Brighton, 1968: a film producer, a novelist and an actress find their private lives encroaching into their public worlds. Pressures build on the trio...
Drawing on the author's own experiences of WW2, the novel's protagonist rebels against the pressures of family and politics in Fascist Italy. First published in 1949. By the author of Forbid... read more
A Crimean War hero's divorce & remarriage causes two lines of descendants, who meet up again one summer in Devon in the 1970s. Ructions ensue. Shrewdly observed and compelling.
A vivid novel about Edith Somerville, co-author of the Irish R.M., set against the backdrop of burnings, politics and lawlessness of Ireland in the early 1920s.
A rollocking historical novel set in Renaissance Venice: an artist sets his heart on a miraculous new pigment, only to find himself caught up in conspiracies, a love affair, violence, obsess... read more
Spiced with Dickens's wit and eye for detail, this is a tautly plotted, dazzling historical thriller. Set before and during the French Revolution, it turns on a French nobleman who repudiate... read more
Spiced with Dickens's wit and eye for detail, this is a tautly plotted, dazzling historical thriller. Set before and during the French Revolution, it turns on a French nobleman who repudiate... read more
Somerset Maugham appears as one of two narrators in this atmospheric novel of love, truth, secrecy and betrayal in 1920s' colonial Penang. Eng's airy storytelling is a rare gift: he gives hi... read more
In Regency England, a girl has the gift of predicting the weather. In order to move freely, she disguises herself as a man - which becomes problematic when she falls in love.
Against the backdrop of WW2 and its aftermath, a young Italian woman marries and moves to her husband's village in the south. Ginzburg's characteristically limpid prose harbours may details ... read more
The story of the inimitable Maria Callas - conflicted, disappointed, ambitious and supremely gifted - and of her love affair with Aristotle Onassis - by the author of The Fortune Hunter, My ... read more
A sensitive novel about Elizabeth MacArthur, who managed to flourish at the end of the world (Australia in the 1790s) despite being married to an exceptionally obnoxious man.
Fleeing starvation in the Jameston settlement, a servant girl sets out alone into the wilderness. An historical novel set in early colonial America, by the author of Matrix.
The Indemnity and Oblivion Act passed into law in 1660, the first year of the Restoration. In Harris's compelling new novel, two regicides flee to America but are tried and found guilty in ... read more
In a remote Austrian valley during WW1, a woman tries to provide for her family after her husband is drafted into the army. Based on the author's own family history. Powerful, succinct.
Every Christmas needs an escapist book and this year we think this fits the bill - a novel about the three daughters of the first Earl of Iveagh. There is of course the old chestnut that Pr... read more
A clever counter-factual historical novel set in C16th Mexico; the Arabs still rule Spain and have discovered what they call New Maghreb. Hunt made his name with non-fiction; this is his fir... read more