Laura Shepherd Robinson - Square of Sevens

Laura Shepherd-Robinson worked in politics for nearly twenty years before turning to the world of historical fiction. Her debut novel, Blood & Sugar, was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month and won the Historical Writers’ Association Debut Crown and the Specsavers/Crimefest Best Debut Novel prize. Her second novel, Daughters of Night, was shortlisted for the Theakstons Crime Book of the Year, the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award, and the HWA Gold Crown. The Square of Sevens is her third novel. 

‘My father had spelt it out to me. Choice was a luxury I couldn’t afford. This is your story, Red. You must tell it well . . .’

A girl known only as Red, the daughter of a Cornish fortune-teller, travels with her father making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient method: the Square of Sevens. When her father suddenly dies, Red becomes the ward of a gentleman scholar.

Now raised as a lady amidst the Georgian splendour of Bath, her fortune-telling is a delight to high society. But she cannot ignore the questions that gnaw at her soul: who was her mother? How did she die? And who are the mysterious enemies her father was always terrified would find him?

The pursuit of these mysteries takes her from Cornwall and Bath to London and Devon, from the rough ribaldry of the Bartholomew Fair to the grand houses of two of the most powerful families in England. And while Red's quest brings her the possibility of great reward, it also leads into her grave danger . . .

'A sweeping Dickensian tour de force of a novel . . . cementing the author’s place as the queen of modern Georgian literature' - Susan Stokes-Chapman, bestselling author of Pandora

'Laura Shepherd-Robinson is a brilliant, brilliant writer, up there with CJ Sansom and Andrew Taylor' - James O'Brien

This rich, complex and haunting Dickensian epic is a triumph of the Gothic genre. A book that stays with you. Shepherd-Robinson is an exceptional writer and meticulous researcher. She creates an atmosphere so evocative of the 18th century I breathed the same air as the characters, wore their clothes, felt what they felt. The Square of Sevens is a masterpiece Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal and The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels.

Tuesday 4th July 2023 - 7.30pm

Tickets £6.00