The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock: A Novel
Imogen Hermes Gowar
eBook
(Harper, Sept. 11, 2018)
Shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction ⢠A Refinery 29 Favorite Book of the Year ⢠A Booklist Top 10 First Novels of the Year ⢠A People Best Book of the FallâWonderful⌠completely transporting.â âMadeline Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Circe and The Song of Achilles In 1780s London, a prosperous merchant finds his quiet life upended when he unexpectedly receives a most unusual creatureâand meets a most extraordinary womanâin this much-lauded, atmospheric debut that examines our capacity for wonder, obsession, and desire with all the magnetism, originality, and literary magic of The Essex Serpent.One September evening in 1785, Jonah Hancock hears an urgent knocking on his front door near the docks of London. The captain of one of Jonahâs trading vessels is waiting eagerly on the front step, bearing shocking news. On a voyage to the Far East, he sold the Jonahâs ship for something rare and far more precious: a mermaid. Jonah is stunnedâthe object the captain presents him is brown and wizened, as small as an infant, with vicious teeth and claws, and a torso that ends in the tail of a fish. It is also dead.As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlors and brothels, all of London is curious to see this marvel in Jonah Hancockâs possession. Thrust from his ordinary existence, somber Jonah finds himself moving from the cityâs seedy underbelly to the finest drawing rooms of high society. At an opulent party, he makes the acquaintance of the coquettish Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes onâand a shrewd courtesan of great accomplishment. This meeting sparks a perilous liaison that steers both their lives onto a dangerous new course as they come to realize that priceless things often come at the greatest cost.Imogen Hermes Gowar, Britainâs most-heralded new literary talent, makes her debut with this spellbinding novel of a merchant, a mermaid, and a madamâan unforgettable confection that explores obsession, wonder, and the deepest desires of the heart with bawdy wit, intrigue, and a touch of magic.