The Lady Brewer of London: A Novel

by Karen Brooks

Overview

An unforgettable historical tale set in fifteenth-century England of a brilliant woman’s defiance, courage, and ingenuity—from the author of The Locksmith’s Daughter and The Chocolate Maker’s Wife. 

1405: The daughter of a wealthy merchant, Anneke Sheldrake suddenly finds her family bankrupted when her father’s ship is swept away at sea. Forced to find a way to provide for herself and her siblings, Anneke rejects an offer of marriage from a despised cousin and instead turns to her late mother’s family business: brewing ale. 

Armed with her mother’s recipes, she then makes a bold deal with her father’s aristocratic employer, putting her home and family at risk. Thanks to her fierce determination, Anneke’s brew wins a following and begins to turn a profit. But her rise threatens some in her community and those closest to her are left to pay the price.

As Anneke slowly pieces her life together again, she finds an unlikely ally in a London brothel owner. Determined not only to reclaim her livelihood and her family, Anneke vows not to let anyone stand in the way of her forging her own destiny. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063008250
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/16/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	814
Sales rank:	186,881
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Australian-born Karen Brooks is the author of nine novels, an academic, a newspaper columnist and social comentator, and has appeared regularly on national TV and radio. Before turning to academia, she was an army officer, and dabbled in acting. She lives in Hobart, Tasmania.

Australian-born Karen Brooks is the author of nine novels, an academic, a newspaper columnist and social comentator, and has appeared regularly on national TV and radio. Before turning to academia, she was an army officer, and dabbled in acting. She lives in Hobart, Tasmania.

Editorial Reviews

09/28/2020

The daughter of a merchant flouts 15th-century English convention to start a brewery in Brooks’s illuminating epic (after The Chocolate Maker’s Wife). At 19, Anneke Sheldrake is devastated when her father’s ship goes missing at sea. His employer, Lord Rainford, agrees to give Anneke six months to come up with the lease money for her home in the village of Elmham Lenn. Anneke uses recipes handed down from her deceased mother, whose family brewed ale, to start a business, but after a fire at the brewery, Anneke flees to London in 1406, where she sets up another brewery, and the next year is reunited with Lord Rainford’s son, Leander Rainford, and tries to avoid the scrutiny of an officer of the crown who unfairly declares her ale substandard, forcing her to dump barrels into the Thames. When Leander helps Anneke get an audience with King Henry to taste her ale, Anneke is hopeful for the continued success of her business. Brooks’s attention to historical detail instills the novel with authenticity by including many historical figures and events, while Anneke’s lively voice keeps a strong grip on the reader as she works to overcome societal prohibitions against women in business and find happiness and contentment. Brooks’s immersive page-turner does not disappoint. Agent: James Frenkel, James Frenkel Assoc. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Richly atmospheric, romantic, and chock-full of period details, this fast-paced tale and its many plot twists and turns are likely to keep historical fiction fans riveted.” — Booklist

“The daughter of a merchant flouts 15th-century English convention to start a brewery in Brooks’s illuminating epic (after The Chocolate Maker’s Wife). Brooks’s attention to historical detail instills the novel with authenticity by including many historical figures and events, while Anneke’s lively voice keeps a strong grip on the reader as she works to overcome societal prohibitions against women in business and find happiness and contentment. Brooks’s immersive page-turner does not disappoint.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Richly atmospheric, romantic, and chock-full of period details, this fast-paced tale and its many plot twists and turns are likely to keep historical fiction fans riveted.

Booklist

Richly atmospheric, romantic, and chock-full of period details, this fast-paced tale and its many plot twists and turns are likely to keep historical fiction fans riveted.

Booklist