The Low Road

SHORTLISTED:NEW ANGLE PRIZE

Norfolk,1813. In the quiet Waveney Valley, the body of a woman - Mary Tyrell - isstaked through the heart after her death by suicide. She had been under arrestfor the suspected murder of her newborn child. Mary leaves behind a youngdaughter, Hannah, who is sent away to the Refuge for the Destitute in London,where she will be trained for a life of domestic service.

It is atthe refuge that Hannah meets Annie Simpkins, a fellow resident, and togetherthey forge a friendship that deepens into passionate love. But the strength ofthis bond is put to the test when the girls are caught stealing from therefuge's laundry, and they are sentenced to transportation to Botany Bay,setting them on separate paths that may never cross again.

Drawing onreal events, The Low Road is a gripping, atmospheric tale that brings to lifethe forgotten voices of the past - convicts, servants, the rural poor - as wellas a moving evocation of love that blossomed in the face of prejudice andill-fortune.