SHORTLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 'What a ride!' India Knight Sunday
Times Summer reads 'Thrilling. a sumptuous feast of plotting and intrigue' Mail on Sunday 'A
complete joy' Bettany Hughes 'Gloriously immersive' Guardian
------------------------------------------------- Frances Howard has beauty and a powerful
family - and is the most unhappy creature in the world. Anne Turner has wit and talent - but no
stage on which to display them. Little stands between her and the abyss of destitution. When
these two very different women meet in strange circumstances a powerful friendship is sparked.
Frankie sweeps Anne into a world of splendour that exceeds all she imagined: a Court whose
foreign king is a stranger to his own subjects where ancient families fight for power and
where the sovereign's favourite may rise and rise - so long as he remains in favour. Anne and
Frankie dare to seek a little happiness for themselves in this extravagant savage hunting
ground. But as they gain notice they also gain enemies what began as a search for love and
safety leads to desperate acts that could cost them everything. Based on the true scandal that
rocked the court of James I A Net for Small Fishes is the most gripping novel you'll read this
year: an exhilarating dive into the pitch-dark waters of the Jacobean court.
