Allison & Busby bags 'haunting' debut novel from Loesch

Allison & Busby has acquired the "rich and haunting" debut novel The Porcelain Doll by Kristen Loesch.

The book explores secrets, revenge and redemption across three generations of Russian women from the 1917 revolution to the last days of the USSR. Its synopsis explains: "Beginning in 1991, Oxford student Rosie delves into a devastating family history when she inherits her mother’s eerie collection of porcelain dolls and a handwritten book of Russian fairy tales. But another story is lurking between the lines, one centred on a young noblewoman, Tonya, as pretty as a porcelain doll, whose actions reverberate across the century."

UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, were acquired by Lesley Crooks, publishing manager, from Sharon Galant at the Zeitgeist Agency. Publication is set for spring 2022.

Crooks said: “I was utterly swept away by this rich and haunting novel, desperate to reach the conclusion but watching the unfolding gothic tale through my fingers! I’m so looking forward to sharing Rosie and Tonya’s stories with readers next year.”

Loesch's  fascination with Russian culture and literature led her to study Russian history and politics with a postgraduate degree in Slavonic Studies at Cambridge University. She said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be working with Lesley and the team at Allison & Busby on a novel that was such a thrill, and a revelation, to write. I sincerely hope this story transports readers in time and place, leaves them with the deep sense of awe and respect I have for this period of history, and compels them to turn to their own older-generation family members and ask: what life did you lead before this one?”