Full Description
SHORTLISTED:
NEW ANGLE PRIZE
Norfolk,
1813. In the quiet Waveney Valley, the body of a woman - Mary Tyrell - is
staked through the heart after her death by suicide. She had been under arrest
for the suspected murder of her newborn child. Mary leaves behind a young
daughter, Hannah, who is sent away to the Refuge for the Destitute in London,
where she will be trained for a life of domestic service.
It is at
the refuge that Hannah meets Annie Simpkins, a fellow resident, and together
they forge a friendship that deepens into passionate love. But the strength of
this bond is put to the test when the girls are caught stealing from the
refuge's laundry, and they are sentenced to transportation to Botany Bay,
setting them on separate paths that may never cross again.
Drawing on
real events, The Low Road is a gripping, atmospheric tale that brings to life
the forgotten voices of the past - convicts, servants, the rural poor - as well
as a moving evocation of love that blossomed in the face of prejudice and
ill-fortune.
