HarperCollins seizes three new historical crime novels from Parris

HarperCollins has seized three new historical crime novels from S J Parris. 

Julia Wisdom, publisher, crime and thrillers, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada from Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown. The deal comprises two novels in a new historical series and one in the bestselling Giordano Bruno series. 

The new Elizabethan-set series features Sophia de Wolfe, first introduced to readers in Parris’s novel, Heresy, where her involvement with a man accused of treason brings her into Bruno’s orbit, and subsequently appeared in Sacrilege, Conspiracy and Execution. Now on her own in 1590s London, she is employed by Walsingham’s successor, the spymaster Robert Cecil, to help remove a new threat to the Queen. 

The latest novel featuring Giordano Bruno, Alchemy, will be out on 6th July 2023 to a “major” publicity and marketing campaign, including a tour of bookshop events and literary festivals, plus standout digital advertising and strategic partnerships. 

Wisdom said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have a new series from S J Parris. Her Bruno novels are wonderful: gripping historical crime novels that give richly textured pictures of the age, both in England and across other parts of Europe. Sophia de Wolfe, a strongly independent woman with a fascinating background, will make a brilliant new series protagonist, and the late Elizabethan period will prove to be fertile ground for religious conspiracies and threats to the stability of the realm.” 

Parris added: “I’m thrilled to be adding to my existing Giordano Bruno novels with the Sophia de Wolfe series. Sophia is a character who has intrigued me since she first appeared in Heresy, and I’m excited about giving her a leading role as an investigator in one of the most dramatic historical periods – the end of the 16th century, as Elizabeth’s reign comes to an end and England stands on the brink of a new era. I can’t wait to work with Julia and the brilliant team at HarperCollins to bring these stories to readers.”