Ashcroft moves to HQ from Sphere in two-book deal

Jenny Ashcroft has moved to HQ from Sphere in a two-book deal.

Manpreet Grewal, publishing director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Rebecca Ritchie at A M Heath for The Echoes of Love and one other novel. The Echoes of Love will be published in hardback, trade paperback, e-book and audio in September 2022.

Grewal, who published Ashcroft’s debut Beneath a Burning Sky at Little, Brown before she moved to HQ in 2017, said: "I’m so excited to be working with Jenny again and launching her in hardback for the first time. She writes evocative, rich and wonderfully romantic historical novels that are adored by readers all over the world, and I know they will all fall in love with Eleni and Otto just as we all have at HQ. Their story, full of hope, pain, courage and heartbreak, is also a deeply moving love letter to Crete – one that will move every reader to tears."

The Echoes of Love is described by the publisher as "an epic tale of secrets, love, loyalty, family and how far you’d go to keep those you love safe". It is a historical love story set in Crete both before the Second World War and during the occupation, which follows Eleni, a young woman who’s half English and half Greek, and Otto, a young German man, who meet on the island in 1936. They fall deeply in love over the course of the summer before they are separated. They are thrown back together during the war when Otto is sent back to Crete as part of the Nazi army, and Eleni is there as part of the special operations executive. But how can they be together again when they are on opposing sides of the war?

Ashcroft said: "This novel, inspired in part by my grandmother, is incredibly close to my heart, and I just couldn’t be happier that Manpreet and the incredible, talented team at HQ will be publishing it. It’s wonderful to be back working with Manpreet again, and I’m so excited at what lies ahead."

Ritchie remarked: "Over the past five years Jenny Ashcroft has become known for her beautifully-written, emotional historical novels, and we’d like to thank Sphere for all they have done in launching her writing career and introducing her to readers. I’m thrilled that she has now been reunited with her first editor Manpreet Grewal, and that the amazing team at HQ will be the ones to shepherd Jenny through the next phase of her career, publishing her in hardback for the first time. This new novel is everything I hoped it would be: ambitious, heart-breaking and utterly captivating, and I can’t wait to see it broaden her readership even further."