Lily cover art

Lily

A Tale of Revenge from the Sunday Times bestselling author

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Lily

By: Rose Tremain
Narrated by: Hattie Morahan
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Nobody knows yet that she is a murderer...

Abandoned at the gates of a London park one winter's night in 1850, baby Lily Mortimer is saved by a young police constable and taken to the London Foundling Hospital. Lily is fostered by an affectionate farming family in rural Suffolk, enjoying a brief childhood idyll before she is returned to the Hospital, where she is punished for her rebellious spirit. Released into the harsh world of Victorian London, Lily becomes a favoured employee at Belle Prettywood's Wig Emporium, but all the while she is hiding a dreadful secret...

Across the years, policeman Sam Trench keeps watch over the young woman he once saved. When Sam meets Lily again, there is an instant attraction between them and Lily is convinced that Sam holds the key to her happiness - but might he also be the one to uncover her crime and so condemn her to death?

© Rose Tremain 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

 Crime Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Fiction Crime Scary Emotionally Gripping Tear-jerking Heartfelt England

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Critic reviews

Lily, in addition to its pellucid prose, is shamelessly gripping (Jake Kerridge)
Tremain's latest novel more than lives up to its atmospheric, riveting beginning... It's consummate storytelling, and finds room for redemption as well as revenge (Hephzibah Anderson)
Another memorable and engrossing read from Tremain, which brings Victorian London, and especially courageous Lily, to life on the page (Joanne Finney)
A heartbreaking story set in Victorian England from the pitch-perfect pen of Rose Tremain (Antonia Senior)
Tremain's gift is to create characters whose experiences span every walk of life, but who are grounded in their author's understanding of the world
Enthralling... Tremain evokes Victorian London with visceral intensity in a gripping and deeply humane novel exploring themes of rejection, poverty, guilt and redemption (Hannah Beckerman)
It's more than gratifying to open [Tremain's] new novel, Lily, and immediately see that she is still writing at full throttle... This is the literary equivalent of all your favourite Christmas telly programmes rolled into one... Lily's story is a winter's tale: a cosy pageturner that will whisk you away from the 21st century while engaging and sharpening your mind. (Melissa Katsoulis)
No writer can inhabit the skin of a historical period and bring it so pulsatingly alive as Rose Tremain. No one can break your heart quite like this. In this compassionate, generous, soaringly beautiful book, Tremain is at the top of her game. Read and be transported (Neel Mukherjee)
Lily is an ingenious blend of historical novel, moral fable and fairy story. Tremain, a pre-eminent historical novelist, vividly evokes the disparate social worlds of Victorian London... Lily is a tale not just of revenge but of redemption, which carries an intense emotional charge. Tremain again displays her supreme ability to create characters who are at once totally true to the period and instantly identifiable to the modern reader
Lily is the perfect heroine, courageous and bold (Nina Pottell)
All stars
Most relevant
I’m a fan of Rose Tremain’s work but this one just wasn’t going anywhere for me. I managed about 8 chapters and was still waiting for some aspect to grasp me. I can’t stand much Victorian literature and this reminded me of the beginning of Jane Eyre so if you loved that, go ahead and dismiss me as a philistine and enjoy your read.

Not for me

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This was a great story as ever by Rose Tremain but the levels of abuse heaped on poor Lily are hard to deal with. A very grim tale and I felt that the abuse and cruelty went too far. It was a good story that did not need the dreadful never ending misery to get the point across.

Horrendous Child Abuse

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I came to love the character of Lily and loved the echoes of Cider With Rosie that I found throughout. I didn't feel absorbed in the story until quite late though, probably because it came very close to misery porn in places, which is something I avoid. Rose Tremain is better than that, however, and I should have trusted her to deal with this distressing aspect of our history without prurience.

Some Things I Didn't Know About Foundlings

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A story to get lost in, excellently narrated. my first by this author but will look out for more. Recommended.

Excellent

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The characters, especially Lily of course, are so real - no heros, no villains, just very believable individuals struggling to cope with the hands that life has dealt them. There are several points when the story could have taken different directions but the one Tremain chooses is always true to the characters it involves. No pat answers here! Hattie Morahan was an excellent reader, never over dramatising, always true to the spirit of the story.

Another great book by Rose Tremain

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