"An incomparable beauty. A promise to a king. A portrait that can never be completed.
Longlisted for the 2024 ARA Historical Novel Prize
When Emilia Lennox loses everything after her husband's lands and title are confiscated, her beauty is her best bargaining chip with the only man who can restore their fortunes: King Charles II himself.
But the king's favour comes at a price. He will pardon Emilia's husband only if she agrees to be his mistress. Torn, Emilia comes up with a condition of her own: she will consent, but not until her portrait hangs among the famed Windsor Beauties, a series commissioned by the Duchess of York to showcase the fairest women in the royal retinue.
For Henry Greenhill, ambitious assistant to the court painter, the opportunity to paint Emilia's portrait is a chance to step out of his master's shadow. But his sitter proves as evasive as she is beautiful, and with barely a sketch to show for his efforts, Henry's career is on the line.
As the king's patience wears thin, it's clear that more than creative talent will be needed to capture this incomparable beauty on canvas ...
From the bestselling author of The Lace Weaver comes this seductive story of rivalry, artistic passion and a woman bold enough to wield her beauty as a weapon."
"From the bestselling author of The Lace Weaver
London, 1702. When her husband is lost at sea, Mary Burton Gulliver, midwife and herbalist, is forced to rebuild her life without him. But three years later when Lemuel Gulliver is brought home, fevered and communicating only in riddles, her ordered world is turned upside down. In a climate of suspicion, poverty and violence, Mary is caught in a crossfire of superstition and fear driven by her husband’s outlandish claims of the wonders he has seen, and it is up to her to navigate a passage to safety for herself and her daughter, and the vulnerable women in her care.
But when a fellow sailor, a dangerous man with nothing to lose, appears to hold sway over her husband, Mary’s world descends deeper into chaos, and she must set out on her own journey to discover the truth of Gulliver’s travels… and the landscape of her own heart.
“Gulliver’s Wife is utterly spellbinding. Lauren Chater is a master of story-weaving and exquisite detail. I adored this book.” MELISSA ASHLEY, bestselling author of The Birdman’s Wife."
"1941, Estonia. As Stalin's brutal Red Army crushes everything in its path, Katarina battles to protect her grandmother's precious legacy – the weaving of gossamer lace shawls stitched with intricate patterns that tell the stories passed down through generations. Meanwhile Lydia is suffocating in her prison of privilege in Moscow, yearning for freedom and to discover her beloved mother's Baltic heritage escapes to Estonia. Soon, these two young women find themselves in a fight for life, liberty and love."
Join our community for the latest bookish news, reading recommendations, exclusive opening extracts, author events and competitions. It\'s all free. And enter a monthly draw to win a £50 Gift Card. See past winners here
