Privilege

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What to expect

18th century France - a world of fountains and gilded porcelain, literary salons and spies... where the right to live and think freely could cost you your life.

...I thought of the books we carried and the hands that would one day hold them. The pages read, turned and discussed. The book returned to the shelf, taken down to be read again. The book become thought and the thought become the person and the person gone out into the world. Let Gilbert try and put a stop to that...

Privilege is set in the 18th century France of an Enlightenment at odds with the absolute power of the King determined to suppress opposition on pain of death.

Delphine Vimond flees to Paris after being cast out from her home in Rouen when her father is disgraced. Into her life tumbles Chancery Smith, apprentice printer from London, sent to discover the mysterious author of potentially seditious papers marked only D.

In a battle of wits with the French censor, Henri Gilbert, Delphine and Chancery set off in a frantic search for D's author. But who is he - and does he even exist?

A novel in defence of reason, humanism and hope.

(P) 2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critics Review

Praise for THE WORDS IN MY HAND

*shortlisted for the 2016 Costa First Novel Award*
Excellent . . . Glasfurd has created an entirely unsentimental love story, with a memorable and engaging heroine. She takes the narrowness of Helena's life and her kicks against its confines, and spins them into an original tale
The Times (Book of the Month)
A striking debut . . . Her portrait of love across barriers of class, and of Helena's yearning for education, is a touching one
The Sunday Times
An accomplished first novel . . . She brilliantly dissects the complex frustrations of a woman in love with a man consumed by intellectual obsessions. There is much to move us here
Guardian
Gloriously readable . . . It feels as though Guinevere Glasfurd has seen into the heart and soul of Helena, as though this really could be her story . . . A truly lovely and captivating debut
LoveReading
Praise for THE YEAR WITHOUT SUMMER
*Shortlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award 2020*
*Longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize 2021*
Rich in voice, beautifully told, and with a chilling sting in its tail
Historical Writers’ Association
Superb . . . a stay-up-all-night page-turner . . . a beautifully written, angry, unflinching and unforgettable novel
Financial Times
Glasfurd is a strikingly sharp and subtle writer . . . She has the rare ability to conjure characters vividly in a few deft strokes and the gift, rarer still, of making us care deeply about them
Guardian
Another superb saga, rich in both historical detail and human interest
Observer
*Praise for PRIVILEGE*
'Set in eighteenth century France, Privilege takes us into the vividly dramatic world of Delphine, self-taught and rebellious, who is effectively orphaned by her father's arrest. In Paris she meets Chancery, a naive Scottish printer's apprentice who is miles out of his depth in this country where freedom of the press - for both readers and writers - is literally a burning issue. Feminism and censorship are just two of the themes that make this novel very timely in 2022. Tightly plotted and hugely readable.
JANE ROGERS, author of PROMISED LANDS
Marvellous . . . fans of immersive historical fiction, the 18th century, all things French and a dash of peril, this one's for you.
Emily Brand, author of THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF BYRON
Glasfurd deftly, elegantly captures this volatile world of impoverished attic rooms and gilded literary salons
DAILY MAIL
Among historical novelists, Glasfurd rides high... Unsentimentally, she takes us by the lapels and insists we pay attention to her characters... This fine novel is a strong reminder of the sovereign importance of the freedom to seek out the truth, wherever we can find it and, without fear of reprisal, to have it published.
Financial Times
A wholly immersive plunge into another world, perfectly realised and a sheer joy to spend time in. Above all, it's a book about books - books and their extraordinary power.
Charlie Carroll, author of THE LIP
A wonderfully engaging novel which reminds us why the freedom to write without fear of persecution remains a privilege which we must always defend.
Alice Jolly, author of MARY ANN SATE, IMBECILE

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