

A pitch-perfect evocation of nineteenth-century London, Tremain's beautifully wrought novel follows the fortunes of a foundling child and the dreadful secret that she carries within her heart.
Nobody knows yet that she is a murderer...
Abandoned at the gates of a London park one winter's night in 1850, baby Lily Mortimer is saved by a young police constable and taken to the London Foundling Hospital.
Lily is fostered by an affectionate farming family in rural Suffolk, enjoying a brief childhood idyll before she is returned to the Hospital, where she is punished for her rebellious spirit. Released into the harsh world of Victorian London, Lily becomes a favoured employee at Belle Prettywood's Wig Emporium, but all the while she is hiding a dreadful secret...
Across the years, policeman Sam Trench keeps watch over the young woman he once saved. When Sam meets Lily again, there is an instant attraction between them and Lily is convinced that Sam holds the key to her happiness - but might he also be the one to uncover her crime and so condemn her to death?
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
ISBN: 9781784744564
Number of pages: 288
Weight: 499 g
Dimensions: 240 x 162 x 28 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Tremain's latest novel more than lives up to its atmospheric, riveting beginning... It's consummate storytelling, and finds room for redemption as well as revenge -- Hephzibah Anderson * Mail on Sunday *
Another memorable and engrossing read from Tremain, which brings Victorian London, and especially courageous Lily, to life on the page -- Joanne Finney * Good Housekeeping *
A heartbreaking story set in Victorian England from the pitch-perfect pen of Rose Tremain -- Antonia Senior * The Times, *Books of the Year* *
Tremain's gift is to create characters whose experiences span every walk of life, but who are grounded in their author's understanding of the world * Harper's Bazaar *
Enthralling... Tremain evokes Victorian London with visceral intensity in a gripping and deeply humane novel exploring themes of rejection, poverty, guilt and redemption -- Hannah Beckerman * Observer *
It's more than gratifying to open [Tremain's] new novel, Lily, and immediately see that she is still writing at full throttle... This is the literary equivalent of all your favourite Christmas telly programmes rolled into one... Lily's story is a winter's tale: a cosy pageturner that will whisk you away from the 21st century while engaging and sharpening your mind. -- Melissa Katsoulis * The Times *
No writer can inhabit the skin of a historical period and bring it so pulsatingly alive as Rose Tremain. No one can break your heart quite like this. In this compassionate, generous, soaringly beautiful book, Tremain is at the top of her game. Read and be transported -- Neel Mukherjee
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“A perfect Victorian melodrama .”
Lily, abandoned as a baby at the gates of a London park, is rescued by a police constable and taken to the foundling hospital from where she is fostered by a loving family in rural Suffolk. On her return to the... More
“A great book that will keep you guessing”
This is a fabulous book that is so well written you can almost feel the smog of London. It is totally different as it will keep you guessing for a very long time.
I have not read anything by the author before but the...
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“Moving nd memorable”
Rose Tremain is one of our greatest living authors. No matter what the subject, her writing immediately draws the reader in to the world she creates. And her subjects are so diverse, but every story is a compelling... More
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