The Manual for Good Wives
A powerful and heartbreaking novel about love, family and reclaiming Black British History
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Pan Macmillan
Publishing:20th Feb '25
£18.99
This title is due to be published on 20th February, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Everything about Adeline Copplefield is a lie . . .
To the world Mrs Copplefield is the epitome of Victorian propriety: an exemplary society lady who writes a weekly column advising young ladies on how to be better wives.
Only Adeline has never been a good wife or mother; she has no claim to the Copplefield name, nor is she an English lady . . .
Now a black woman, born in Africa, who dared to pretend to be something she was not, is on trial in the English courts with all of London society baying for her blood. And she is ready to tell her story . . .
From the author of The Attic Child, Lola Jaye, comes The Manual for Good Wives, a dual narrative historical novel about love, generational trauma, second chances and hope.
I was definitely in tears by the end! There is so much to say about this story. Lola Jaye has given us such a creative way of examining privilege, identity, trauma and whiteness in both eras -- Afua Hirsch, author of Brit(ish) on The Attic Child
[This]could be Lola’s best book yet. Her writing is on another level, with characters and a story that grab you from the first page and don't let go until the very end. Just brilliant -- Dorothy Koomson, author of My Other Husband on The Attic Child
An incredibly important book giving breath to voices we sadly seldom hear . . . beautifully crafted, [a] compelling story crossing continents and time, which will undoubtedly break your heart but also make it sing -- Mike Gayle, author of Dinner for Two on The Attic Child
Bruising yet hopeful epic novel . . . Emotional and evocative. A powerful tale of trauma, identity and survival * Daily Mail on The Attic Child *
ISBN: 9781529064629
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
384 pages