Stunning historical immersion into the world of Rembrandt with a gripping plot of a promise turned sour. For fans of Stacey Halls, Maggie OFarrell and Tracy Chevalier.
Hanging beside the door is a painting of a wedding feast. The light is centred on the bride; the guests are banished to the shade.
That is how it is when he looks at her: all others fade away. 1642 the Dutch Golden Age is underway, with Amsterdam at the height of its powers. Geertje, an impoverished widow from Edam, enters a melting pot of wealth and culture when she becomes nursemaid in the house of renowned painter Rembrandt.
After Rembrandts wife dies, Geertje grows close to him. Despite her friends warnings she begins a passionate affair with the master of light and shadow, with devastating results. Based on the true story of a wronged woman who demanded justice, with themes of feminism, loss, ambition and redemption, Rembrandts Promise is a remarkable debut, perfect for fans of sumptuous historical fiction.
ISBN 9781804186411
'By normal, you mean like you? A slag with a saviour complex?'
'Funny, gripping and compassionate'
Dolly Alderton
'A breath of fresh air'
Marian Keyes
'Essential reading'
Jonathan Coe
Nadia is an academic who's been disowned by her puritanical mother and dumped by her lover, Rosy. She decides to make a getaway, accepting a UN job in Iraq. Tasked with rehabilitating ISIS women, Nadia becomes mired in the opaque world of international aid, surrounded by bumbling colleagues.
Sara is a precocious and sweary East Londoner who joined ISIS at just fifteen.
Nadia is struck by how similar they are: both feisty and opinionated, from a Muslim background, with a shared love of Dairy Milk and rude pick-up lines. A powerful friendship forms between the two women, until a secret confession from Sara threatens everything Nadia has been working for.
A bitingly original, wildly funny and razor-sharp exploration of love, family, religion and the decisions we make in pursuit of belonging, Fundamentally upends and explores a defining controversy of our age with heart, complexity and humour.
ISBN 9781399623933