Martin, Valerie – The Bell Bookshop

Mrs Gulliver

Emma — Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The newest novel from Valerie Martin, winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction’Beguiling’ The Times’Utterly brilliant’ Daily Mail’Intelligent, quick-witted and curious’ Irish Times1954. Nineteen years old, beautiful and blind since birth, Caritá has taken control of her life by leaving home and working in Mrs Gulliver’s reputed and exclusive brothel. On her first night there she meets Ian Drohan, a young and wealthy idealist who falls madly in love with her, and is determined to save her from this employment. But does Caritá need saving? A delightful entanglement of star-crossed lovers, gangsters and chase across tropical paradise, Mrs Gulliver is an entertaining escapade of two women forging their place in the world.

Mrs Gulliver

Emma — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

‘Irresistible – a funny, sexy romp that’s also smart, even wise’ Kirkus starred review’Pure elegance, subtlety and wit. A triumph of a novel’ – Francesca Segal, author of Mother ShipIt is 1954, and prostitution is legal in the tropical haven that is Verona Island. Here, among gangsters and corrupt lawmen, Lila Gulliver runs a brothel that promises her exclusive clientele privacy and discretion. When nineteen-year-old CaritÃ , beautiful and blind since birth, comes to her door seeking employment, Mrs Gulliver sees a business opportunity and takes a chance. CaritÃ is mesmerising, sharp and a mystery to her employer, always holding herself at a distance.One night, the son of a wealthy judge patronises Mrs Gulliver’s establishment, immediately falling madly in love with CaritÃ . This is Ian Drohan – young, idealistic and cushioned by wealth and family connections. Mrs Gulliver mistrusts him, and worries for CaritÃ ‘s future. CaritÃ , on the other hand, is fearless, headstrong and a force of nature that Mrs Gulliver is always several steps behind. A dazzling drama filled with sex, wry wit and literary references, Mrs Gulliver follows two women who have nothing to lose in their fight for agency on an island too ready to dismiss them.

I Give It to You

Emma — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Jan Vidor seems like the ideal tenant for a long summer holiday in a Tuscan villa. Unobtrusive and quietly sociable, the American academic can be relied upon to entertain herself – but her aristocratic landlady Beatrice has made a terrible mistake.A chance remark about a violent death at Villa Chiara during the war piques Jan’s writerly interest and sends her digging into the Salviati family’s tragic past. Was Beatrice’s uncle Sandro really mistaken for a partisan, or was his killer someone closer to home? Does it matter if Jan just fills in the gaps? After all, Beatrice said she could do as she liked with the story, she even said ‘I give it to you’ . . .Written with a deep understanding of loyalty and temptation, I Give It To You is a riveting novel about who owns a story, whether we have a right to what we inherit, and what a gift really means.