A fiery feminist retelling of Mary, Queen of Scot's darkest hour for fans of MATRIX and THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS
'Richly detailed' THE NEW YORKER
'Carr has taken an often overly romanticised historical figure and given her new life and originality.' THE TIMES
'A vivid, visceral read' TRACY CHEVALIER
'Bold and intimate' TLS
***
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.
About the Author
Flora Carr was named one of 40 London Library Emerging Writers 2020/2021. She won the Vogue Talent Contest and was shortlisted for the 2018 V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize, Her work has appeared in TIME Magazine, British ELLE, Radio Times, and The Observer New Review. Flora grew up in Yorkshire and currently lives in London. The Tower is her first novel.
Industry Reviews
Many authors have produced fictional portraits of Mary, Queen of Scots, but none has been quite like that provided by Flora Carr in her debut novel . . . Carr has taken an often overly romanticised historical figure and given her new life and originality. The Times
Bold and intimate . . . it maintains a sharp immediacy in keeping with the bristling antagonisms and power plays that take place within the castle walls. -- Christopher Shrimpton The Times Literary Supplement
Richly detailed . . . Through her tale, Carr depicts the ways in which women can care for and exert power over one another. The New Yorker
Carr succeeds admirably in depicting the joylessness of Mary's incarceration and the various
indignities to which she is subjected . . . Carr draws us tightly into the skulduggery of the tower, building a gripping and claustrophobic read.
-- John Boyne Irish Times
The Tower is such a vivid, visceral read, you feel you're locked in the tower alongside the characters, acting out a royal family drama. I am moved and impressed -- Tracy Chevalier
An absorbing read and an utterly believable female perspective on history. Its cocktail of tension and tenderness perfectly captures the claustrophobic world of the four women in the tower; a historical narrative with contemporary relevance -- Sally Hinchcliffe
