The first book to be featured this season on the Sara Cox Radio 2 Book Club is The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson—a rollicking Georgian era-set novel, as down-on-her-luck Hannah tries to get to the bottom of her husband’s mysterious death whilst fending off the unwanted attentions of novelist Henry Fielding.
The book will be released on 10 July and Laura’s interview with Sara is on BBC Sounds from Tuesday 8 July.
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We also have an exclusive extract.
The Art of a Lie
That’s the trouble with stories, especially the ones you write for yourself. Sometimes you think they’ve ended, when they’ve barely begun…
London, 1749. Following the murder of her husband in a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to keep her head above water. The Punchbowl and Pineapple, her confectionary shop on Piccadilly, is barely turning a profit, and her suppliers are conspiring to put her out of business. So, when she learns that her husband had a large sum of money in his bank account that she knew nothing about, the surprise is extremely welcome. And when William Devereux, a friend of her late husband, tells her about a new Italian delicacy called “iced cream”, Hannah believes it might transform the fortunes of her shop.
But her husband’s unexpected windfall attracts the attention of author-turned-magistrate Henry Fielding, who suspects the money was illicitly acquired. Unless Hannah can prove otherwise, her inheritance will be confiscated. As she and Devereux work to uncover the secrets of her husband’s double life, their friendship opens Hannah to speculation and gossip, locking her into a battle of wits more devastating than anything, even her husband’s murder.
About the author
Laura Shepherd-Robinson worked in politics for nearly twenty years before re-entering normal life to complete an MA in Creative Writing.
Her debut novel, Blood & Sugar, was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month and won the Historical Writers’ Association Debut Crown and the CrimeFest/Specsavers Crime Fiction Debut Award. Her second novel, Daughters of Night, was shortlisted for the Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year Award, the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award and the HWA Gold Crown. Her third novel, The Square of Sevens, was an instant Sunday Times bestseller, a USA Today bestseller, and featured on BBC Two’s Between the Covers. The Art of a Lie is her fourth novel.
She lives in London with her husband Adrian.
A word from Laura
“I was SO happy when I heard that The Art of a Lie had been selected for the Radio 2 Bookclub. And so wonderful that librarians around the country have given so much support to my novel. I have many happy memories of our weekly school trip to the library on College Green in Bristol. I was a voracious reader as a child, and would always take home the maximum number of books allowed. All those stories, all those characters, all those worlds to be explored. It was in a library that I first discovered Joan Aitken’s Wolves of Willoughby Chase series, which firmly established my love of historical fiction.”
“The Art of a Lie is the story of Hannah and William, my two favourite characters of any of my books. A confectionery shop in St James’s in London, a widow struggling to run her business alone, a new Italian delicacy named ‘iced cream’, and a murder inquiry led by novelist-turned magistrate, Henry Fielding. It has a twisty plot, but it also has many themes to provoke discussion: justice, sexism, honesty, and betrayal. It’s a crime novel, a love story, and an immersion in 18th century London. I hope that you all enjoy the book and thank you once again. This means the world.”
Get involved
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