Mrs Engels
Overview
Longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, and shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction
Love is a bygone idea, centuries-worn. There are things we can go without, and love is among them; bread and a warm hearth are not.
In September 1870 a train leaves Manchester bound for London. On board is Lizzie Burns, a poor worker from the Irish slums, embarking on the journey that will change her forever.
Sitting in the first-class carriage beside her lover, the wealthy mill-owner Frederick Engels, the vision of a life of peace and comfort takes shape before her eyes. But as Lizzie soon learns 'the world doesn't happen how you think it will. The secret is to soften to it, and to take its blows.'
Details
- Format
- Size
- Extent
- ISBN
- RRP
- Pub date
- Paperback
- 198mm x 129mm
- 352 pages
- 9781925228229
- GBP£8.99
- 11 February 2016
Awards
- Longlisted for the 2015 Guardian First Book Award
- Shortlisted for the 2015 Green Carnation Prize
- Shortlisted for the 2016 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction
- Shortlisted for the 2016 Desmond Elliott Prize
- Shortlisted for the 2016 Historical Writers Association
Praise
‘A terrific, startling read: compelling cast, involving story, historically transporting. Gavin McCrea has found an original and atmospheric way of giving resonant voice to the unsung Lizzie Burns. Beguiling, humorous, terrifyingly candid, clandestine agent in a world of hazardous political intrigue and the equally risky complexities of desire and love, McCrea‘s Lizzie Burns is an enthralling character who pulls us irresistibly into her fascinating world from her first words to her last.’
‘An unusual, wholly convincing voice.’
About the Author
Gavin McCrea is the author of two critically acclaimed novels, Mrs Engels (2015) and The Sisters Mao (2021), both published by Scribe. His articles have appeared in The Paris Review, The Guardian, The Irish Times, Catapult, and LitHub.
