Imogen Hermes Gowar studied Archaeology, Anthropology and Art History before going on to work in museums. She began to write fiction inspired by the artefacts she worked with, and in 2013 won the Malcolm Bradbury Memorial Scholarship to study for an MA in Creative Writing at UEA. The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock was a finalist in the MsLexia First Novel Competition and shortlisted for the inaugural Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers’ Award.
A cracking historical novel – with a twinge of the surreal – about
passion and obsession, dreams and reality... The story is by turns
intriguing, touching, funny, sad and heartwarming. It will make you
laugh and it may make you cry. Mostly, though, the cast of
endlessly engaging characters will keep you turning the pages until
you get to the wholly satisfying ending... The Mermaid and Mrs
Hancock is superb.
*The Times*
From the first page of this dazzling debut novel, you are pitched
into a sumptuously detailed adventure set in the bustle and swagger
of 18th century London… The result is a wonderfully written and
richly descriptive novel, its brilliantly drawn characters driven
by heady and dangerous desires.*****
*Sunday Express*
Roll up, roll up, a true wonder is on display: a mermaid magicked
out of words. The author of this debut set in Georgian London
gulled me, by the zest of her writing and sustained authorial
slight of hand, into forgetting for a second that they do not
exist... Imogen Hermes Gowar delights in the feminine fakery of
mermaids, but as a writer she is the real deal.
*Guardian*
A sumptuous historical novel... It was an absolute pleasure to lose
myself in this beautifully written Georgian adventure
Hotly anticipated... a bold, sumptuous doorstopper... Gowar has
created a dazzlingly original novel, full of heady pleasures and
shot through with the kind of irreverent humour you might expect to
find in Georgian London. She’s succeeded in creating a
fully-realised world that you want to get lost in. But what’s most
refreshing is that she gives all the best lines to women.
*Evening Standard*
A marvellous, high-energy, inventive romp through Georgian society.
Rich in delicious period detail and written with a wickedly
observant eye, the path of this unlikely romance leads down some
unexpected byways to give a fantastic and thoroughly enjoyable
reading treat.
*Daily Mail*
Historical fiction at its finest… Early as it is in the year to be
predicting Booker nominations, if debuts feature as prominently as
they did on last year’s longlist, this will surely merit
consideration.
*Irish Times*
The bustling, bawdy world of 18th-century London [is] expertly
evoked in Imogen Hermes Gowar’s The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock. This
is undoubtedly the start of a major career for this young
writer.
*Vogue*
Beautifully written...As seductive as any siren's song, this
remarkable, glittering Georgian tale has a heart of purest
gold.
Like the recent historical-fiction hits Franics Spufford’s Golden
Hill, Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent and Jessie Burton’s The
Miniaturist, this is a novel pungent in historical detail
*Sunday Times*
Wonderful… completely transporting
A brilliantly plotted story of mermaids, madams and intrigue in
1780s London and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it become the Essex
Serpent of 2018.
*The Pool*
It’s now the fate of new historical novels to be hyped as ‘the next
Essex Serpent’ … The good news is that Imogen Hermes Gowar’s
sparkling debut more than merits the comparison... Pure
storytelling pleasure.
*Metro*
Gowar has crafted a dazzlingly original novel, full of heady
pleasures and shot through with the kind of irreverent humour you
might expect to find in Georgian London.
*Evening Standard*
This ambitious debut has many virtues: the writing is rich,
opulent, at times witty, and Gowar captures the decadent, febrile
atmosphere of late-18th-century London in impressive detail.
*Mail on Sunday*
2018’s most hyped literary debut… [Imogen Hermes Gowar is a]
soon-to-be literary star.
*Sunday Times*
The richness and rhythm of the writing is irresistible.
A story of curiosity and obsession, this is full of rich detail and
is a book to get lost in
*Stylist*
A gloriously assured debut, set in a beautifully drawn London… A
story of obsession and destruction, hope and heart, which beguiles
as much as the mermaid herself.
*Red Magazine, **Books of the Year***
The most buzzed-about book of 2018 so far is also the most magical…
the definition of ‘must-read’
*Sunday Telegraph Stella Magazines*
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