"This thrilling feminist adventure of smuggling, concealed identity, literary myth-making and women’s words swells with exquisite, exuberant story-telling."
Part exhilarating adventure, part literary puzzle, A Wild and True Relation by Kim Sherwood presents an inspired, inspiring romp through centuries as it tells the story of a woman who rises from being little orphan Molly to making myths that grip literary greats. Reeling with revenge, courage and incredible escapades, it’s a joyous, beautiful book.
Opening with a brutal scene of violence and flames, we meet Molly when she’s taken under the wing of smuggler Tom West: “I’ll take care of you… I couldn’t stop Dick English killing your mother. But I saw him dead for it. I know I’m not your father, but I swore the day you were born. You’re mine, you understand? And you always will be. I’ll live up to my word”. Disguised as a boy called Orlando, Molly joins his crew and shows herself to be an indomitable force, bound for a life of revenge-fuelled adventure.
With interludes from writers intrigued by Molly/Orlando’s exploits, among them George Eliot, this dances with invention, wit and women’s voices.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
A Wild & True Relation opens during the Great Storm of 1703, as smuggler Tom West confronts his lover Grace for betraying him to the Revenue. Leaving Grace's cottage in flames, he takes her orphaned daughter Molly on board ship disguised as a boy to join his crew. But Molly, or Orlando as she must call herself, will grow up to outshine all the men of Tom's company and seek revenge - and a legacy - all of her own.
Woven into Molly's story are the writers - from Celia Fiennes and George Eliot to Daniel Defoe and Charles Dickens - who are transfixed by her myth and who, over three centuries, come together to solve the mystery of her life. With extraordinary verve , Sherwood remakes the eighteenth-century novel and challenges women's writing and women's roles throughout history.
A Wild & True Relation features in the following genres: Historical Fiction, Star Books, Action Adventure, Historical adventure fiction, Fiction, Recommendations
A Wild & True Relation is available in Paperback, Hardback
A Wild & True Relation was written by Kim Sherwood and published by Virago Press Ltd an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group
A Wild & True Relation has 506 pages
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