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