The Low Road

SHORTLISTED: NEW ANGLE PRIZE
Norfolk, 1813. In the quiet Waveney Valley, the body of a woman - Mary Tyrell - is staked through the heart after her death by suicide. She had been under arrest for the suspected murder of her newborn child. Mary leaves behind a young daughter, Hannah, who is sent away to the Refuge for the Destitute in London, where she will be trained for a life of domestic service.
It is at the refuge that Hannah meets Annie Simpkins, a fellow resident, and together they forge a friendship that deepens into passionate love. But the strength of this bond is put to the test when the girls are caught stealing from the refuge's laundry, and they are sentenced to transportation to Botany Bay, setting them on separate paths that may never cross again.
Drawing on real events, The Low Road is a gripping, atmospheric tale that brings to life the forgotten voices of the past - convicts, servants, the rural poor - as well as a moving evocation of love that blossomed in the face of prejudice and ill-fortune.

Katharine Quarmby has had a long career as an investigative journalist in the print and broadcast media. Her reporting on Rwanda (alongside Fergal Keane) won the One World Trust Award for Best News Film of 1999, and in 2011 she was shortlisted for the Paul Foot Award for her work on disability hate crime. Her non-fiction books include No Place to Call Home, about the lives of Travellers, and Scapegoat, based on her work on disability hate crime. She has also written several books for children. The Low Road is her first novel. She lives in London.