Allen & Unwin acquires 'exceptionally vivid' historical fiction series

The Silver Wolf, the first title in a new historical fiction series by J C Harvey, has been acquired by Atlantic imprint Allen & Unwin. 

Set across the battlefields of Europe during the Thirty Years War, the novel will be published as a lead title in hardback and e-book on 3rd February 2022, with two further novels in the series to follow in 2023 and 2024.

The synopsis explains: "The Silver Wolf is the extraordinarily rich, dark, panoramic tale of an orphaned boy’s quest for truth and then for vengeance as war rages across 17th-century Europe. In Jack Fiskardo, the author introduces readers to an unforgettable hero, in whose adventures we encounter not only secrets and treachery and the relentlessness of fate, but also the courage, compassion, love and loyalty that can ultimately lead to salvation, too."

The book will be launched with a "high-impact" marketing campaign in September including a cover reveal, super-proof mailing, NetGalley availability and a pre-order campaign for Waterstones and independent booksellers.

Senior editor Kate Ballard acquired world rights from Fox & Howard Literary Agency. She said of the acquisition: "I knew from the opening pages that Jacky had created in this novel something really special; not only an exceptionally vivid depiction of seventeenth-century life and the brutalities of the battlefield but also a brilliantly charming, smart and dangerous swashbuckling hero who we can’t fail to root for or take to our hearts. 

"Working with Jacky has been a privilege and a pleasure, and I can’t wait to introduce her unique voice to readers everywhere – and to find out what lies in store for our characters’ future."

J C Harvey is the pen name of Jacky Colliss Harvey. The Silver Wolf marks her fiction debut. Harvey worked in museum publishing for 20 years, first at the National Portrait Gallery and then at the Royal Collection Trust, where she set up the trust’s first commercial publishing programme. 

Harvey said: "I am so excited to have the chance to introduce readers to Jack Fiskardo. He’s a good man to have on your side, especially in a conflict as grim as the Thirty Years War – which, before 1914, was the greatest and most destructive war in European history. The astonishing events of the war make an exceptional setting for his journey, one that I hope readers will find heart-stopping and exhilarating in equal measure."