Welcome to the British Ladies Football Club

London, 1897. Minnie Newton - twenty-eight-year-old schoolteacher and women's rights advocate - has a passion for football. But in Victorian society, football is a men's game. That is, until Minnie decides to take matters into her own hands and place an ad in the newspaper, asking for volunteers to join the first ever women's football team.

From a motley collection of replies, Minnie puts together a squad. Most of the women have never kicked a ball before - but a little thing like that isn't about to stop them. And when they take the game public, it isn't long before they are drawing huge crowds, stirring controversy across the capital and beyond.

But Minnie is hiding an explosive secret. Soon, all the attention the club is getting begins to threaten the life she has built for herself.

Can she walk the line between independence and safety, or will the truth about who she really is finally come out? And is the beautiful game enough to save her freedom?

A story inspired by real-life Victorian trailblazers, who showed the world that women can do anything they put their minds to, even if the world around them says they can't.

PRAISE FOR FRANCES QUINN:

'An uplifting, warmhearted, glorious romp of a novel where the underdogs triumph and the world is put to rights...Frances Quinn has such a talent for tackling serious historical topics with heart, humour, and humanity.' LOUISE FEIN

'A triumphant, heart-lifting read about friendship, resilience, and rewriting the rules.' NIKKI SMITH

'Frances Quinn remains top of the historical fiction league with this feminist, feelgood page-turner' PENNY BATCHELOR

'Packed with wit, humour, and warmth. Frances Quinn scores again.' EMILIA HART

'This funny, heart-warming story examines friendship, female power and what it really means to be an independent woman in Victorian England.' ELENI KYRIACOU

'Full of heart and humour ... a hymn to friendship and a celebration of female power' NICOLA GILL

'Frances Quinn is the Sarina Wiegman of historical fiction, producing a winner every time!' TREVOR WOOD

'Full of humour, friendship, and wonderful characters that leap off the page' LOUISE HARE

'Frances Quinn has effortlessly captured the spirit of an era in this delightful page-turner of a novel' JOANNA GLEN

'A compelling, heart-warming novel' GILL PAUL

'A beautifully written page-turner' LILA CAIN

'Utterly compelling' ESSIE FOX

'Immersive and intriguing' HAZEL GAYNOR

About the Author
Frances Quinn grew up in London and read English at King's College, Cambridge, realising too late that the course would require more than lying around reading novels for three years. After snatching a degree from the jaws of laziness, she became a journalist, writing for magazines including Prima, Good Housekeeping, She, Woman's Weekly and Ideal Home, and later branched out into copywriting, producing words for everything from Waitrose pizza packaging to the EasyJet in-flight brochure.

In 2013, she won a place on the Curtis Brown Creative novel writing course, and started work on her first novel, The Smallest Man. That Bonesetter Woman was published in 2022 and The Lost Passenger in 2025.

She lives in Brighton, with her husband and two Tonkinese cats.

Reviews
PRAISE FOR FRANCES QUINN:

'The author of The Smallest Man and That Bonesetter Woman has done it again with another gripping historical drama' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

'A thoroughly enjoyable novel about being brave enough to grab hold of a second chance and make the most of it' LOUISE HARE, author of Harlem After Midnight

'A cracking riches-to-rags tale from the queen of the underdog story, which cleverly turns the standard Cinderella story on its head to page-turning effect' TREVOR WOOD, author of The Man On The Street

'An addictive, page turning read filled with wit, wisdom and a central character to root for' CAROLINE BISHOP, author of The Lost Chapter

'A triumphant, heart-lifting read about friendship, resilience, and rewriting the rules.' NIKKI SMITH, author of They Had It Coming

'Packed with wit, humour, and warmth. Frances Quinn scores again.' EMILIA HART, author of The Sirens

'This funny, heart-warming story examines friendship, female power and what it really means to be an independent woman in Victorian England.' ELENI KYRIACOU, author of A Beautiful Way to Die

'Frances Quinn has effortlessly captured the spirit of an era in this delightful page-turner of a novel' JOANNA GLEN, author of The First Act of Summer

'A vivid story of female empowerment that resonates today. These Lionesses roar.' VICTORIA DOWD, author of Death in the Aviary

'Fascinating, funny and thought-provoking - the ultimate hat trick in storytelling - I loved every minute in the company of these ladies both off the pitch and on.' FREYA NORTH, author of Little Wing

Frances Quinn scores a hat trick with The Scandalous Ladies Football Club - it's warm, witty and wonderful! No one can beat Quinn when it comes to feel-good historical fiction.' CHARLOTTE LEVIN, author of If I Let You Go

'A compelling, heart-warming novel' GILL PAUL, author of The Secret Wife

'Powerful and inspiring' ANNA MAZZOLA, author of The Clockwork Girl

'A beautifully written page-turner' LILA CAIN, author of The Blackbird of St Giles

'Utterly compelling' ESSIE FOX, author of Dangerous

'Immersive and intriguing' HAZEL GAYNOR, author of The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter

'A vivid, compelling, and immaculately researched story' LUCY BARKNER, author of The Other Side of Mrs Wood

'A wonderful story of friendship and fulfilment' MATSON TAYLOR, author of Roman Mornings

'Frances Quinn remains top of the historical fiction league with this feminist, feelgood page-turner' PENNY BATCHELOR, author of The Woman Next Door

'An uplifting, warmhearted, glorious romp of a novel where the underdogs triumph and the world is put to rights...Frances Quinn has such a talent for tackling serious historical topics with heart, humour, and humanity.' LOUISE FEIN, author of Book of Forbidden Words

'Full of heart and humour ... a hymn to friendship and a celebration of female power' NICOLA GILL, author of Identity Crisis



Book Information
ISBN 9781398520738
Author Frances Quinn
Format Hardback
Page Count 416
Imprint Simon & Schuster Ltd
Publisher Simon & Schuster Ltd
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 135mm * 29mm