Faber to publish Francesca Simon’s first novel for adults

Faber has snapped up Francesca Simon’s first novel for adults, Salka: Lady of the Lake, which was first conceived as a cantata to be performed at the Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts.

Publisher Leah Thaxton bought UK & Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Stephanie Thwaites at Curtis Brown, on behalf of Faber and Profile. The book will be published in paperback in the UK in April 2025.

"Salka, the faerie Lady of the Lake, can’t help but appear to Owain, a shepherd who has already captured her heart," the synopsis says. "He needs only to see her to fall deeply in love. But her father has one condition on their marriage: if Owain strikes her three times she must return to the Lake forever. Owain doesn’t realise there are many ways to strike a blow to the heart [...] Francesca Simon’s first novel for an adult readership is a tautly moving tragedy told by multiple voices, both a richly woven retelling of an ancient Welsh myth and a thought-provoking drama for our times."

Thaxton said: "Francesca’s creativity knows no bounds. From bestselling author of young fiction to opera librettist, Francesca now opens a novel that takes a haunting Welsh myth and makes it ever more relevant... Salka is a heroine of our time, authentic to herself to the bitter end."

Simon added: "It’s always thrilling for a writer to try something new, and writing Salka has been a joy. From its origins as a cantata for two voices and symphony orchestra to a novel told by 15 characters, I’ve loved adapting the legend of the lady of Llyn y Fan Fach to explore both a passionate love story and how people project their fears and longings onto outsiders, whose ways are other."