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?

*ONE OF THE TIMES' BOOKS OF THE YEAR*

Praise for Rose Tremain:

'One of my favourite writers' Nina Stibbe

'Tremain is one of the best novelists writing today' Sara Collins

'Pulsatingly alive . . . no one can break your heart quite like this' Neel Mukherjee

Readers love LILY

'A stunning story of love, betrayal and true grit' Susan H.

'Lily is vivid and alive... historical fiction at its best' Sheila R.

'One of the most breathtakingly captivating and exquisitely spun pieces of storytelling I've read in a long time' Caroline K.

About the Author

Rose Tremain's novels and short stories have been published in thirty countries and have won many awards, including the Orange Prize (The Road Home), the Dylan Thomas Award (The Colonel's Daughter and Other Stories), the Whitbread Novel of the Year (Music & Silence), the James Tait Black Memorial Prize (Sacred Country) and the South Bank Sky Arts Award (The Gustav Sonata). Her most recent novel is Islands of Mercy. Rose Tremain was made a CBE in 2007 and a Dame in 2020. She lives in Norfolk and London with the biographer, Richard Holmes.

Reviews
Lily, in addition to its pellucid prose, is shamelessly gripping -- Jake Kerridge * Daily Telegraph *
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



Book Information
ISBN 9781784744564
Author Rose Tremain
Format Hardback
Page Count 288
Imprint Chatto & Windus
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 499g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 162mm * 28mm