We are very much looking forward to welcoming debut novelist Flora Carr to the shop on Tuesday 30th April at 7pm as we celebrate the publication of her fiery feminist retelling of Mary, Queen of Scot's darkest hours, The Tower.
They are imprisoned, but not contained.
Three women cross a loch. It is 1567, one of them is pregnant, two of them fretful. The boat takes them to Lochleven castle in the middle of the water. Awaiting them are courtiers braying for blood, hellbent on keeping one of them under lock and key: Mary Queen of Scots.
In the tower, Mary's maids Frenchwoman, Cuckoo and watchful Scot, Jane are her only allies, and the chamber their entire world. A new reality sets in where they are at the mercy of not only their keepers, but of raging Scotland itself.
In the outside world, Mary's kin, Queen Elizabeth claims she can do little but write. Downstairs, the shrewd jailor-courtier Margaret Erskine places her daughter-in-law Agnes in the chamber as her pair of eyes. Hope seems futile until the bewitching Lady Seton arrives. Seton's power shifts everything in the tower and soon a plan is hatched.
But which of them will risk it all to save their mistress? Which woman loves her queen best?The Tower is a triumphant story of desire, grit, God-given power and wiles from a striking new voice in historical fiction.
Flora Carr is a writer currently based in London. She is a previous winner of the Vogue Talent Contest, and was named one of the London Library’s 40 Emerging Writers 2020/21. She was shortlisted for the VS Pritchett Short Story Prize, and the Harper’s Bazaar Short Story Prize. Her work has been published in the likes of TIME Magazine, Observer New Review, and British ELLE.
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Doors: 6.30pm, event starts: 7pm, please arrive early to secure a good seat.
Tickets are FREE, there is also Ticket & Book option which includes a signed copy of The Tower by Flora Carr.
The bookshop has level access, events are seated and speakers use microphones. If you have any concerns about accessibility, please do get in touch and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.
For more information or if you would like a signed copy because you can't make it to the event, please contact the Blackwell's events team on 0131 622 8222 or matthew.land@blackwell.co.uk
