The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock

The spellbinding Sunday Times bestselling historical fiction phenomenon

Summary

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'Wonderful...completely transporting' Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe


One September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock finds one of his captains waiting eagerly on his doorstep. He has sold Jonah's ship for what appears to be a mermaid.

As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlours and brothels, everyone wants to see Mr Hancock's marvel. Its arrival spins him out of his ordinary existence and through the doors of high society, where he meets Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on...

What will be the cost of their ambitions? And will they be able to escape the legendary destructive power a mermaid is said to possess?
_____

PRAISE FOR THE MERMAID AND MRS HANCOCK:

'Full of rich detail' Stylist

'A gloriously assured debut, set in a beautifully drawn London' Red Magazine

'A deliciously salty slab of historical fiction' Daily Telegraph

'A wonderful read' Nina Stibbe

'A dizzyingly good debut' The Times

'Imogen Hermes Gowar delights in the feminine fakery of mermaids, but as a writer she is the real deal' Hermione Eyre, author of Viper Wine

Reviews

  • A cracking historical novel – with a twinge of the surreal – about passion and obsession, dreams and reality... The story is by turns intriguing, touching, funny, sad and heartwarming. It will make you laugh and it may make you cry. Mostly, though, the cast of endlessly engaging characters will keep you turning the pages until you get to the wholly satisfying ending... The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock is superb.
    The Times

About the author

Imogen Hermes Gowar

Imogen Hermes Gowar studied Archaeology, Anthropology and Art History before going on to work in museums. She began to write fiction inspired by the artefacts she worked with, and in 2013 won the Malcolm Bradbury Memorial Scholarship to study for an MA in Creative Writing at UEA. The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock was a finalist in the MsLexia First Novel Competition, shortlisted for the inaugural Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers’ Award and the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2018, and longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize 2018 and HWA Debut Crown 2018.
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