Historical Thriller Author Event: Alex Hay and Clare Whitfield in conversation with Hannah Dolby.
POOR GIRLS by Clare Whitfield is a compelling historical thriller inspired by a real-life, all-female London crime gang: The Forty Elephants.
For fans of Sara Collins, Eleni Kyriacou and Emilia Hart, POOR GIRLS exposes the criminal underbelly of 1920s London – but this isn’t a morality tale, it’s an adventure for the willingly wicked.Don’t get angry, get rich.
It’s 1922. Twenty-four-year-old Eleanor Mackridge is horrified by the future mapped out for her – to serve the upper classes or find a husband. During the war, she found freedom in joining the workforce at home, but now women are being put back in their place. Until Eleanor crosses paths with a member of the notorious female-led gang the Forty Elephants: bold women who wear diamonds and fur, drink champagne and gin, who take what they want without asking. Now, she sees a new future for herself: she can serve, marry – or steal. After all, men will only let you down, but diamonds are forever.
Clare Whitfield was born the fourth child to ex-Armed Forces parents. She grew up on St Helier Estate in Morden before moving to Sutton and currently lives in Hampshire. People of Abandoned Character, her first novel, was published in 2020 and won the Goldsboro Glass Bell 2021 Award and was shortlisted for the HWA Crime Debut 2021. The Gone and the Forgotten, her second novel was published in 2022.
POOR GIRLS is her third novel.——————————————————————–
QUEEN OF FIVES by ALEX HAY1898.
Quinn Le Blanc, London’s most talented con woman, has five days to pull off the seemingly impossible: trick an eligible duke into marriage and lift a fortune from the richest family in England. Masquerading as a wealthy debutante, Quinn is the jewel of the season. Her brilliant act opens doors to the grand drawing rooms and lavish balls of high society – and propels her into the inner circle of her target: the corrupt, charismatic Kendals. But as she spins in and out of their world, Quinn becomes tangled in a dangerous web of love, lies and loyalty. The Kendal family all have secrets of their own, and she may not be the only one playing a game of high deception…
Alex Hay grew up in Cambridge and Cardiff and has been writing for as long as he can remember. He studied History at the University of York, and wrote his dissertation on female power at royal courts, combing the archives for every scrap of drama and skullduggery he could find. He has worked in magazine publishing and the charity sector and is a graduate of the Curtis Brown Write Your Novel course. His debut novel The Housekeepers won the Caledonia Novel Award 2022 and was published to great critical acclaim.
Alex lives with his husband in South East London.
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