Description
Book SynopsisTravel to the revolutionary closing years of 18th century England. Meet Jack Cockshutt, arsonist by trade, returning to rescue his victims and profit from their relief, finding the woman who just might save him. Meet the beauty who castigates her customers with passages from Paine's Rights of Man; the boy who raises the tricolour on the White Tower; the labourer contracted to spend seven years locked up beneath a dilettante's country house. Meet Lappish women. Glimpse the picnic party of the Ottoman ambassador. A stunning new voice emerges with these strange and gemlike stories.
Trade Review'This is the best kind of historical fiction: the past is freshly and energetically reimagined in Alix Nathan's intricate and interweaving tales. She cuts against cliche, against the received version, against cosiness. She leaves her reader restless, curious, wanting more. She is an original, with a virtuoso touch.' Hilary Mantel 'From free indirect discourse to wonderful imagery, Nathan lends her stories and creations a refreshing immediacy all too often lacking in historical works - Nathan must be applauded on such a confident, learned and engaging debut collection.' New Welsh Review 'Knotty and intricate little pieces that linger long after reading - ' Adrian Masters, Wales Arts Review
