HarperCollins pens deal with Gregory in 'hotly contested' seven-way auction

HarperCollins has signed a “major” multi-book project with historical novelist Philippa Gregory.

The deal was negotiated by William Collins publishing director Arabella Pike, who acquired world rights from Zahra Glibbery, chief executive officer of Vivat Publishing, following a “hotly contested” seven-way auction. 

The first book to publish as part of the deal will be Normal Women, described as a nine-century social and cultural history of England drawn from the forgotten records of ordinary women.

The synopsis reads: “Normal Women tells the story of our nation through the stories of women soldiers, jousters, guild widows, nuns, saints, highwaywomen, pirates, miners, ship owners, traders, theatre impresarios and ‘female husbands’ who for centuries blazed the trail for women today. Based on a lifetime’s research, Gregory’s book reveals a forgotten and hidden history of half of the nation who had no legal presence, no voice in government and no right to own property – but still ruled, governed and made fortunes.”

The book will publish in hardback, e-book and audio on Thursday 26th October. Harper Via will publish in the US in February 2024. An edition for young people will follow from Farshore’s non-fiction imprint Red Shed, while a Big Cat edition will take Normal Women into schools around the country.

Pike commented: “Philippa has been working on this book all her professional life, making notes and drafting sections over a span of 30 years. The depth of her thinking shows in every sentence. Normal Women is nothing less than our history retold.”

Cally Poplak, executive publisher for Farshore, added: “We are delighted to be collaborating with Arabella and the William Collins team to inspire younger readers with Philippa Gregory’s thrilling new perspective on the history of England.”

Gregory said: “This book is my tribute to the women of England. It was inspired by the unknown women that I discovered while researching for my novels: women like Mary Boleyn – of The Other Boleyn Girl – whose life, career and legacy was overshadowed by that of her sister, or women like Margaret of Anjou who have been obscured by slanderous reports. Finding these, and the thousands of women who left only a tiny trace of their lives in the records has been a journey of discovery – bringing them to the reader is to put them where they belong: at the heart of our national story.”

Gregory wrote her first novel, Wideacre, when she was completing her PhD in 18th-century literature at the University of Edinburgh. She went on to write bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen. Gregory was named the University of Edinburgh’s Alumna of the Year in 2009. She holds honorary degrees from Teesside University and the University of Sussex. She is a fellow of the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff and an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck University of London.