The Most Remarkable Woman in the Guardian

In today's Guardian, there's a very thoughtful review by Tessa Hadley of The Most Remarkable Woman in England.

It opens like this:

Sometimes life is better than fiction. Is there any novelist who could have got this extraordinary story so perfectly right, inventing it: the violence at the heart of it, the suspense, the succession of revelations, the passions so raw and inchoate that they have a mythic force? And then there's the grand sweep of the narrative, beginning in the bleak poverty of an obscure cottage in the Forest of Dean, acted out finally on the national stage.

The rest is certainly also worth your time, and the review also features a wonderful photo of part of the crowd gathered outside the Gloucester Shire Hall upon Beatrice Pace's acquittal.

Today in the Pace case: 24 October 1927

Monday, 24 October, 1927: Harry Pace is released from Gloucester Royal Infirmary after a little over two months' stay. He returns to his home, Rose Cottage, where he is tended to by Beatrice.

Today in the Pace case: 24 October 1889

24 October 1889: The birthdate of Beatrice Pace (or, as she was known then, Beatrice Martin).

Today in the Pace case: 23 October 1909

23 October 1909: Beatrice Martin and Harry Pace were married at the Monmouth register office.

The Most Remarkable Woman's Hour

I will be appearing tomorrow (Wednesday, 17 October) on BBC Radio 4's programme 'Woman's Hour' to talk about The Most Remarkable Woman in England.

The programme will be available live ('Woman's Hour' is broadcast between 10 and 10.45am GMT) online via the BBC website. If you can't make time to listen live, however, it will be available on the iPlayer soon after broadcast.

I've had some very nice chats with the show's producers in recent weeks and am looking forward to the interview and meeting host Jenni Murray!

[UPDATE]: Here's a direct link to my segment (or, 'chapter') on the show.

The Most Remarkable Woman in England: Available in the UK, US and Europe

"Compelling."

"Such a page turner."

"Absolutely fabulous." 

These are a few of the verdicts that I have received in emails from British readers of my book, The Most Remarkable Woman in England: Poison, Celebrity and the Trials of Beatrice Pace.

So, I'm pleased to announce that, just over a month after its UK release, the book is now available in the US/Canada and in continental Europe.

In the UK, details and ordering information for the reasonably priced paperback edition are available direct from Manchester University Press. It is also available--at various discounts--from online retailers such as Amazon.co.uk, Blackwells and Waterstones, as well, of course, via ordering through your local bookshop.

In the US, the book is being distributed by Macmillan and is available directly from them. Or, of course, from Amazon, other on-line retailers or, again, via ordering through your local bookshop. For the moment, it may be that US orders take a bit longer than would be ideal. Keep in mind that the book is from a university press based in the UK.

But the best signal for them to stock up is to get your orders in.

If you're looking for more immediate gratification, there is already a fair amount of information on the case on this blog, and you may also wish to 'like' The Most Remarkable Woman in England at its Facebook page: if so, please encourage your friends to do the same!

I will be posting updates here and at the Facebook page of any reviews or commentaries on the book and of any future book-related events and developments.

And if you do enjoy the book (which I hope very much), I encourage you to say so via online reviews, comments in social media (Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, etc.), blogs you may contribute to, and, of course, in that trusty old means of communication: conversation. As a book from a university press, word-of-mouth advertising (amplified electronically) is going to make all the difference!