In late seventeenth century London two women, one white, one black, stake everything to prevent a manipulative mogul destroying them. Zenobia, born in poverty, grasps that her only hope of controlling her own life is to capitalise on her looks; Lily, brought to London on a sugar and slave ship as a ‘toy’, educated alongside her mistress but used by her master, lives as a kept woman.
As their story weaves and folds through a murky and merciless London, both find themselves pitted against a ruthless man the world knows as John Crace. London's rich but festering possibilities as a rapidly-changing multinational city are breathtakingly painted, and pungent milieux ranging from plague pits to prisons to pastry kitchens – and Pickled Herring Stairs - are vividly brought to life.
- ISBN13 9781910258095
- Publish Date 6 September 2018
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Pimpernel Press Ltd
- Format Paperback
- Pages 256
- Language English