'The vibrant new voice of historical fiction' Suzannah Dunn: Katherine Clements' stunning debut conjures the extraordinary women you never knew about in the turbulent years of the English Civil War.
Based on the real figure of the fascinating Elizabeth Poole, The Crimson Ribbon is the mesmerising story of two women's obsession, superstition and hope.
May Day 1646. The Civil War is raging and what should be a rare moment of blessing for the town of Ely takes a brutal turn. Ruth Flowers is left with little choice but to flee the household of Oliver Cromwell, the only home she has ever known. On the road to London, Ruth sparks an uneasy alliance with a soldier, the battle-scarred and troubled Joseph. But when she reaches the city, it's in the Poole household that she finds refuge.
Lizzie Poole, beautiful and charismatic, enthrals the vulnerable Ruth, who binds herself inextricably to Lizzie's world. But in these troubled times, Ruth is haunted by fears of her past catching up with her. And as Lizzie's radical ideas escalate, Ruth finds herself carried to the heart of the country's conflict, to the trial of a king.
The Crimson Ribbon is an exceptional debut novel: literate, engaging, passionate, intelligent and thought-provoking, it offers insight into a part of Cromwell's life about which I, at least, knew nothing at all, and it does so from an entirely unique angle. Deftly written, uncluttered and impassioned, this has to be one of the leading historical debuts of the year.
