'Compelling and intriguing, this is a well-told story full of wonderful prose and surprising events. It's a vivid addition to the genre'. —RT BookReviews Shortlisted for the Impress Prize England 1660 When artist Alice Ibbetson discovers a rare orchid, the lady's-slipper, growing in a nearby wood, she is captivated by its beauty. It is the last surviving specimen and she wants to preserve it for future generations. There is only one problem - it is growing on the land of Richard Wheeler, a newly-converted Quaker, who will not allow her to touch it. Fearing for the flower's fragility, she steals the orchid, little dreaming that this seemingly simple act will set off an unstoppable chain of events - a web of intrigue that will lead to murder and exile, and change her comfortable life forever. Set in an England riven by civil war and divided loyalties the novel explores the nature of faith, and who should control the land we all inhabit. "It is a genuinely engrossing story, with characters you can get interested in." —The Mum website

'a fast-paced adventure peopled with ruthless villains and feisty heroines whose exploits grab the imagination and add suspense and excitement to a historical gem." —Lancashire Evening Post Winter, 1661. In her short life Sadie Appleby has never left rural Westmorland. But one night she is rudely awoken by her older and bolder sister, Ella. She has robbed her employer and is on the run. Together the girls flee their home and head for London, hoping to lose themselves in the teeming city. But the dead man's relatives are in pursuit, and soon a game of cat and mouse ensues amongst the freezing warren that is London in winter. Ella is soon seduced by the glitter and glamour of city life and sets her sights on the flamboyant man-about-town, Jay Whitgift, owner of a beauty parlour for the wives of the London gentry. But nothing in the capital is what it seems, least of all Jay Whitgift. Soon a rift has formed between Ella and Sadie, and the sisters are threatened by a menace more sinister than even the law. Set in a brilliantly realised Restoration London, The Gilded Lily is a novel about beauty and desire, about the stories we tell ourselves, and about how sisterhood can be both a burden and a saving grace. "It's hard to say why you find a novel unputdownable, but I've just spent about 4 hours curled up with the second half, and there was no way I was not going to finish it today!" "The story line, like a meandering river, was full of unexpected twists and turns which enchanted me and made it very hard to put down." "Brilliant. a cracking good read couldn't put it down, exciting from beginning to end the author really brought the characters to life." "I enjoyed this one particularly as it has a different and engaging storyline. It was another book I couldn't put down...read in a day and enjoyed the characters and storline immensely."