'Deliciously creepy, alive with the rustling silks, rotten smells and lethal egos of a divided Paris' Sarah Hilary
'Instantly draws you in, immersing the reader in a Paris of filth and greed, money and sin' Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Paris, 1750.
In the midst of an icy winter, as birds fall frozen from the sky, chambermaid Madeleine Chastel arrives at the home of the city's celebrated clockmaker and his clever, unworldly daughter.
Madeleine is hiding a dark past, and a dangerous purpose: to discover the truth of the clockmaker's experiments and record his every move, in exchange for her own chance of freedom.
For as children quietly vanish from the Parisian streets, rumours are swirling that the clockmaker's intricate mechanical creations, bejewelled birds and silver spiders, are more than they seem.
And soon Madeleine fears that she has stumbled upon an even greater conspiracy. One which might reach to the very heart of Versailles...
A intoxicating story of obsession, illusion and the price of freedom.
All of our books that a have dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.
Anna is a writer drawn to peculiar and dark historical subjects. Her novels explore the impact of crime and injustice.
Her debut novel, The Unseeing, is based on the life of a real woman called Sarah Gale who was convicted of aiding a murder in London in 1837. The Sunday Times called it, ‘A twisting tale of family secrets and unacknowledged desires.’ It won an Edgar Award in the US and was nominated for the Historical Writers’ Association’s Debut Crown in the UK.
Her second novel, The Story Keeper, is out now. It follows a folklorist’s assistant as she searches out dark fairytales and stolen girls on the Isle of Skye in 1857. The Story Keeper has recently been longlisted for the Highland Book Prize.
Anna studied English at Pembroke College, Oxford, before becoming a human rights and criminal justice solicitor.
She lives in Camberwell, South London, with her husband and children.
All of our books that a have dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.
Over the past few years, historical fiction and non-fiction has experienced an incredible surge in popularity, captivating long-term readers of the genre and drawing in...