TWO FOR SORROW

Two For Sorrow

London, 1903. Two women are hanged in Holloway Prison for killing babies. More than thirty years later, their crimes resurface with shocking consequences.

When Josephine Tey sets out to write a novel about Amelia Sach and Annie Walters, the notorious Finchley baby farmers, she can have little idea that the research for her book will be needed to help solve a modern-day killing – the sadistic murder of a young seamstress, found dead in the Motley sisters’ studio, amid preparations for a star-studded charity gala.

Moving between the decadence and glamour of a private women’s club, the bleak surroundings of Holloway prison, and the deprivation of London’s slums, Two For Sorrow is a dark and unsettling exploration of the way in which the crimes of the past destroy those left behind – long after justice is done.

Published by Faber and Faber.

"Any crime afficionado… should make room for Nicola Upson’s novels in which the real-life author Josephine Tey, one of the grandes dames of the Golden Age of detective fiction, investigates murders in the thirties." Daily Telegraph

'Curiously touching and psychologically compelling.' Joan Smith, Sunday Times

'The death of the young seamstress...is a bravura essay in triumphant hideousness, its sinister sparkle enhanced by Upson's care over detail.' TLS

'Upson expertly weaves fact with fiction in this haunting and brilliantly executed novel.' Stylist

'Upson's style is compelling, meticulously reserached and immaculately written. She creates a world you enter through her pages and are reluctant to leave at the end.' Angela Singer, Hunts Post

"There are, of course, plenty of novels that feature real people, but recruiting crime fiction writer Josephine Tey (1896-1952) to be the heroine of your series seems a bold, even impertinent, step. However, the quality of Upson's first two books proved that any fears about setting illustrious corpses spinning in their graves were unjustified. The foray into the world of the privileged 1930s protofeminist – in this instance theatreland and a London women's club – continues in her third, Two for Sorrow. Here, Miss Tey is researching a book about two turn-of-the-century baby farmers, but when a young seamstress is found murdered, she becomes involved in the investigation and it soon becomes clear the cases are connected. With a well-made plot and a fascinating cast of female characters, both haves and have-nots, this is an assured addition to an excellent series." Laura Wilson, Guardian

Cover illustrations by Mick Wiggins. www.mickwiggins.com