About this item
Chocolate. Smuggling. Secrets and Lies. Brazil and London, 1824: charged with a mission by the Empress of Brazil, celebrated writer and the toast of Georgian London Maria Graham sets off for England with the Brazilian civil war at its height. Newly widowed and a woman traveling alone, the stakes are high and when she accepts roguish smuggler Captain James Henderson's offer of passage on his ship, she gets more than she bargains for . . . Henderson is on a journey of his own, back to his childhood home in Covent Garden. Onboard Maria discovers both a dangerous secret concealed in a chocolate bar and an irresistible attraction to the mysterious captain. But falling in love with a smuggler is almost unthinkable for a woman of Maria's social standing. Though Henderson tries his utmost to abandon his life of crime and forge a new identity as a London gentleman, he is caught in a dangerous tangle with a deadly aristocratic smuggling ring. The only chance he has to save himself and prove worthy of Maria is to unmask the gang and break free from their clutches, but will it be enough?
About the Author
"History is a treasure chest which contains not only facts and figures, archive material and artefacts but stories. I love the stories."Sara Sheridan was born in Edinburgh and studied at Trinity College, Dublin. She works in a wide range of media and genres. Tipped in Company and GQ magazines, she has been nominated for a Young Achiever Award. She has also received a Scottish Library Award and was shortlisted for the Saltire Book Prize. She sits on the committee for the Society of Authors in Scotland (where she lives) and on the board of UK-wide writers' collective '26' the campaign for the importance of words. She blogs on the Guardian site about her writing life and puts her hand up to being a 'twitter evangelist'. She also appears, occasionally on BBC Radio, most recently on Radio 4's From Our Own Correspondent, talking about Estonian independence on one occasion and human rights in UAE on another. She mentors writers for the Scottish Book Trust. Sara is also a member of the Historical Writers' Association (for Secret of the Sands and The Secret Mandarin) and the Crime Writers' Association (for the Mirabelle Bevan Mystery series) . A self-confessed 'word nerd' her favourite book is 'Water Music' by TC Boyle.
