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2023 Aurora Award for Best Novel
*Winner of the Aurora Award for Best Novel*
1768. Charlotte, daughter of the Habsburg Empress, arrives in Naples to marry a man she has never met. Her sister Antoine is sent to France, and in the mirrored corridors of Versailles they rename her Marie Antoinette.
The sisters are alone, but they are not powerless. When they were only children, they discovered a book of spells – spells that work, with dark and unpredictable consequences.
In a time of vicious court politics, of discovery and dizzying change, they use the book to take control of their lives.
But every spell requires a sacrifice. And as love between the sisters turns to rivalry, they will send Europe spiralling into revolution.
Brimming with romance, betrayal, and enchantment, The Embroidered Book reimagines a dazzling period of history as you have never seen it before.
Genre: Fantasy
‘Spellbinding’ JJA Harwood
‘An entertaining and dark read’ Stylist
‘An absorbing novel’ Guardian
‘Beautifully written’ Elizabeth Chadwick
‘Power is not something you are given. Power is something you take. When you are a woman, it is a little more difficult, that’s all’1768. Charlotte, daughter of the Habsburg Empress, arrives in Naples to marry a man she has never met. Her sister Antoine is sent to France, and in the mirrored corridors of Versailles they rename her Marie Antoinette.
The sisters are alone, but they are not powerless. When they were only children, they discovered a book of spells – spells that work, with dark and unpredictable consequences.
In a time of vicious court politics, of discovery and dizzying change, they use the book to take control of their lives.
But every spell requires a sacrifice. And as love between the sisters turns to rivalry, they will send Europe spiralling into revolution.
Brimming with romance, betrayal, and enchantment, The Embroidered Book reimagines a dazzling period of history as you have never seen it before.
Genre: Fantasy
Praise for this book
"The Embroidered Book is superb from its opening scene to its heartbreaking end... Politics, magic, love, and sacrifice compete on equal terms in a sweeping, absolutely splendid epic novel about two sisters and familial love. If you like historical feminist fantasy, you will love The Embroidered Book." - Lisbeth Campbell
"Sacrifice, family, dreams, and deep, dark magic, The Embroidered Book is a triumph." - Julie E Czerneda
"Richly imagined and skilfully told, The Embroidered Book is an intricate and spellbinding tale." - JJA Harwood
"Seamlessly weaves together real historical events into a stunning narrative that I'm sure will grip readers from the very first page to the very last. I could almost believe the book itself had been enchanted!" - Ann Sei Lin
"What can I say about this book? It is extraordinary. I didn't know how deeply I needed a story about sisters Charlotte and Antoine (later Marie Antoinette) and their complicated, courtly, beautiful, magical world." - E Catherine Tobler
"Sacrifice, family, dreams, and deep, dark magic, The Embroidered Book is a triumph." - Julie E Czerneda
"Richly imagined and skilfully told, The Embroidered Book is an intricate and spellbinding tale." - JJA Harwood
"Seamlessly weaves together real historical events into a stunning narrative that I'm sure will grip readers from the very first page to the very last. I could almost believe the book itself had been enchanted!" - Ann Sei Lin
"What can I say about this book? It is extraordinary. I didn't know how deeply I needed a story about sisters Charlotte and Antoine (later Marie Antoinette) and their complicated, courtly, beautiful, magical world." - E Catherine Tobler
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