ABOUT
THE BOOK

At the centre of this intriguing, irresistible novel are the young Lambs – Charles, constrained by the tedium of his work as a clerk at the East India Company, taking refuge in a drink or three too many while spreading his wings as a young writer, and his clever, adoring sister Mary, confined by domesticity, an ailing, dotty father and a maddening mother. Into their lives comes William Ireland, an ambitious 17-year-old antiquarian and bookseller, anxious not only to impress his demanding showman of a father, but also to make his mark on the literary world.

When Ireland turns up a document in the handwriting of Shakespeare himself, he takes Mary into his confidence – but soon scholars and actors alike are beating a path to the little bookshop in Holborn Passage.