An Almond for a Parrot: A Novel

by Wray Delaney

Overview

I would like to make myself the heroine of this story and my character to be noble—an innocent victim led astray. But alas, sir, I would be lying… 

In prison, accused of murder, Tully Truegood begins to write her life story. A story that takes her from a young girl in the backstreets of 18th century London to her stepmother Queenie's Fairy House—a place where decadent excess is a must… 

Trained by Queenie to become a courtesan, and by Mr. Crease—a magician who sees that Tully holds similar special powers to his own—Tully soon becomes the talk of the town. 

But as Tully goes on a journey of sexual awakening, she falls in love with one of her clients and the pleasure soon turns to pain. Especially when the estranged husband she was forced to marry by her father suddenly seeks her out. Now Tully is awaiting her trial for murder, for which she expects to hang…and her only chance of survival is to get her story to the one person who might be able to help her. 

Delaney's incredible tale of a young woman's journey out of the depths of despair is shocking, haunting and evocative. Part historical fiction and part magical realism, this juicy, jaw-dropping story will linger long after the last page is turned.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781460397954
Publisher:	Harlequin
Publication date:	08/16/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	417
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Wray Delaney is the pen name of Sally Gardner, the award-winning children's novelist who has sold over 2 million books worldwide and been translated into 22 languages. She lives in London and this is her first adult novel.

Editorial Reviews

03/13/2017
In this page-turning tale of one woman’s quest for happiness, Delaney takes readers to 18th-century London, opening with a framing scene in which Tully Truegood, a courtesan with magical powers, awaits trial for a murdering her husband. In the first person, Tully details her difficult upbringing with her dreadful father, who treats Tully as more of a servant than a daughter as she is forced to clean up after her father’s drunken friends. Mr. Truegood further proves his evil nature when he forces her to marry when she is only 12. As Tully grows older and her absent husband leaves her without money, she meets Mr. Crease, who recognizes her powers, and Queenie, who runs a brothel and grooms Tully to become her latest courtesan. Tully has the misfortune to fall in love with Avery Fitzjohn, who makes love to her and then leaves her to marry a French heiress in order to save his destitute family. When Tully finds a new protector in Lord Barbeau, she learns about her power as a woman and her fortitude to make her way in the world. Despite being charged with the murder of her husband, Tully continues to hope that she will avoid being hanged. Delaney’s novel is rich with historical detail, eroticism, and magic. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"A bawdy, romping affair... Delaney mixes up genres-historical fiction, erotica, magic realism-to create something original." -The London Times

"An irresistible erotic fairytale for adults" -The Guardian

"Sally has captured the spirit of the 18th century and the life of courtesans, whores, dispossessed women, the heart-breaking female battle for autonomy, and the lives of men at all levels of society-entirely without pastiche or a single false note."
-Meg Rosoff, award-winning author of How I Live Now

"With elements of magical realism, plenty of sexy scenes, and a good dollop of drama, this is one hell of a read." -The Sun

"A compelling mix of bawdy romp and magical realism."  -Red

"A fun, explicit romp with real stakes that will have you trying to finish this book in one sitting."
-Stylist

"Wray Delaney has written a saucy rags-to-riches erotic novel that is entirely entertaining"
-Sci-Fi Now

"A rather spicy, yet sensitive and poignant read, and I truly do recommend introducing yourself to Tully Truegood, then settling down to hear her remarkable tale"
-LoveReading

"The characterization is superb, the settings well-described and the storyline fast paced and intriguing."
-Frost Magazine

From the Publisher

★ 02/15/2017
As the only child of a drunken, widowed brick merchant Tully Truegood is left to raise herself; her only human contact is the cook—small wonder that a solitary, imaginative child becomes fanciful. Even Tully's sudden marriage to a masked stranger at age 12 brings no companionship as her "husband" is immediately sent to sea and, as the cook prophesies, with any luck Tully will be a widow before she ever sees him again. This gray existence ends abruptly with her father's second marriage, bringing vivid life and love in the form of a colorful, ebullient stepmother and two intriguing stepsisters who vanish as quickly as they come, only to reappear in mysterious circumstances as owners of Georgian London's premier brothel. There Tully is trained as a courtesan; a magician recognizing her otherworldly gifts, turns her into the toast of London, pursued by a series of men who bring love, enlightenment, degradation, and confinement in Newgate Prison on charges of murder. VERDICT This richly imagined, bawdy, and beautifully written debut is Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders with a touch of magical realism, an intricately crafted mystery, romance, and adventure in one superb package.—Cynthia Johnson, formerly with Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, MA

Library Journal