Remember, remember, the fifth of November… gunpowder, treason and plot! We were joined by author K. J. Maitland to hide copies of her historical fiction novel The Drowned City at locations key to the plot!
The Book Fairies are marking the date by sharing a novel set just one year after the execution of the gunpowder plotters – when a shock tsunami hit the city of Bristol… As well as hiding copies up and down the UK, author K. J. Maitland is going to place copies at locations featured in the novel!
“The sea would not be bribed. It granted no mercy to the rich or to the poor. Neither the meanest hut of a blind beggar nor the grandest house of a wealthy merchant was spared.”
“The long, narrow underground chamber was crammed full of prisoners awaiting trial and contemplating what lay in store for them.”
“Intelligencers hang about the inns and taverns like ticks on a hound’s arse, and every man at court has spies.”
“The cry came again, but this time it sounded more human than animal, a hiccupping sob. I edged a few paces back towards the church.”
About the book:
1606. A year to the day that men were executed for conspiring to blow up Parliament, a towering wave devastates the Bristol Channel. Some proclaim God’s vengeance. Others seek to take advantage.
In London, Daniel Pursglove lies in prison waiting to die. But Charles FitzAlan, close adviser to King James I, has a job in mind that will free a man of Daniel’s skill from the horrors of Newgate. If he succeeds.
For Bristol is a hotbed of Catholic spies, and where better for the lone conspirator who evaded arrest, one Spero Pettingar, to gather allies than in the chaos of a drowned city? Daniel journeys there to investigate FitzAlan’s lead, but soon finds himself at the heart of a dark Jesuit conspiracy – and in pursuit of a killer.
What did the author think of the day?
“When I became a Book Fairy for the day, through Book Fairy magic I had the thrill of time-travelling back to Bristol in the year 1606 and stepping into my own novel. I spent a wonderful day in the company of two other amazing Book Fairies, hiding copies of The Drowned City in secret locations in Bristol where the hero of the novel, Daniel Pursglove, discovered corpses and clues, cheated death and chased spies. I hope each reader who found a book will get the same thrill when they read what happened on that spot 400 years ago.”
– K. J. Maitland, author of The Drowned City
Lucky finders!
We love nothing better than hearing from lucky finders of the books us book fairies hide! Here are just a few of the messages we got from finders of K. J. Maitland’s The Drowned City!
Not lucky enough to find a copy?
Do not worry – this amazing book is available in both hardback and paperback in all good bookshops! If you don’t have a chance to go to the shops, you can still support your local indie by ordering your copy of The Drowned City from Bookshop.org!
Would you like to be a book fairy?
We are always looking for people to help us distribute books! The first step is to get a set of official book fairy stickers and start hiding a few of your pre-loved books where you live, work and/or travel!
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Book Fairy Starter Kit£30.00 -
Book Fairy Library Card Stickers£10.00 -
Book Fairy Dictionary Definition Tote Bag£15.00 -
Stickers – English£4.00