As we spend a lot more time at home and in the sunshine, here’s a guide to some of the best books available to pre-order now…
Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (28th January 2021): following the success of her debut novel Blood & Sugar, Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s next novel sees Caroline Corsham attempting to seek justice for a murdered woman that society seems to want to forget about.
London, 1782. Desperate for her politician husband to return home from France, Caroline ‘Caro’ Corsham is already in a state of anxiety when she finds a well-dressed woman mortally wounded in the bowers of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. The Bow Street constables are swift to act, until they discover that the deceased woman was a highly-paid prostitute, at which point they cease to care entirely. But Caro has motives of her own for wanting to see justice done, and so sets out to solve the crime herself. Enlisting the help of thieftaker, Peregrine Child, their inquiry delves into the hidden corners of Georgian society, a world of artifice, deception and secret lives.
The City of Tears by Kate Mosse (14th January 2021): this new book from Kate Mosse follows on from The Burning Chambers and is the second in the series. Sweeping from Paris and Chartres to the City of Tears, it is a story of revenge, persecution and loss.
June 1572: for ten, violent years the Wars of Religion have raged across France. Neighbours have become enemies, countless lives have been lost, the country has been torn apart over matters of religion, citizenship and sovereignty. But now a precarious peace is in the balance: a royal wedding has been negotiated by Catherine de’ Medici and Jeanne d’Albret, an alliance between the Catholic Crown and Henri, the Huguenot king of Navarre. It is a marriage that could see France reunited at last.Meanwhile in Puivert, an invitation has arrived for Minou Joubert and her family to attend this historic wedding in Paris in August. But what Minou does not know is that the Joubert family’s oldest enemy, Vidal, will also be there. Nor that, within days of the marriage, on the eve of the Feast Day of St Bartholomew’s, Minou’s family will be scattered to the four winds and one of her beloved children will have disappeared without trace . . .
Dearly by Margaret Atwood (10th November 2020): the acclaimed author returns to her poetic roots with this collection of poetry that examines topics such as absences and endings, ageing and retrospection, but also about gifts and renewals. It is her first collection of poetry in a decade.
Troy by Stephen Fry (29th October 2020): following on from the success of ‘Mythos’ and ‘Heroes’, Stephen Fry turns his attention to the Trojan War in this new retelling that brings this epic story to life once more.
Troy. The most marvellous kingdom in all the world. The Jewel of the Aegean. Glittering Ilion, the city that rose and fell not once but twice . . .The story of Troy speaks to all of us – the kidnapping of Helen, a queen celebrated for her beauty, sees the Greeks launch a thousand ships against that great city, to which they will lay siege for ten whole and very bloody years.It is Zeus, the king of the gods, who triggers war when he asks the Trojan prince Paris to judge the fairest goddess of them all. Aphrodite bribes Paris with the heart of Helen, wife of King Menelaus of the Greeks, and naturally, nature takes its course.
A Del of a Life by David Jason (29th October 2020): as one of Britain’s most beloved comic actors, David Jason has played some memorable roles in his career. Now, in celebration of his 80th Birthday he is releasing this autobiography.
Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith (15th September 2020): this fifth instalment in J.K. Rowling’s hugely acclaimed and successful pseudonymous crime series is one of the most highly anticipated books of the year. With few details revealed about the plot, readers can expect more twists and turns….
Once Upon a Tyne by Ant and Dec (3rd September 2020): marking 30 years on the television together Ant and Dec look back at their joint career and friendship in this new book from their beginnings on Byker Grove to I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (20th August 2020): from the author of How to Stop Time and The Humans, comes this new novel of a bizarre library that offers second chances.
When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change. The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren’t always what she imagined they’d be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?
Six Tudor Queens: Katheryn Howard, The Tainted Queen by Alison Weir (6th August 2020): this fifth book in Weir’s series looking at the lives of Henry VIII’s wives tells the story of young Katheryn Howard who is ruthlessly put in the king’s way thanks to her ambitious family. But what the king doesn’t know is that Katherine has a past that could well come back to haunt her…