The Gilded Lily: A sweeping historical saga of sisters, courage and love (Westmorland Book 2)

‘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.
Shy Sadie Appleby has never left her rural home. But one night she is rudely awoken by her older and bolder sister, Ella, who has robbed her employer and is on the run.

Together they flee to London, desperate to lose themselves in the teeming city. Ella, seduced by the glitter and glamour of city life, sets her sights on flamboyant man-about-town, Jay Whitgift, owner of The Gilded Lily — a beauty parlour for the wives of the London gentry.

But nothing in the city is what it seems, least of all Jay Whitgift. And soon the sisters are threatened by a menace more sinister than the law.

Set in a brilliantly realised 17th Century 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.” ★★★★★