Harvill Secker buys James' 'exquisite' historical novel

Harvill Secker will publish American author Tania James’s Loot, billed as “a dazzling historical novel about love, empire and stolen treasure”.

Publishing director Liz Foley and editor Mikaela Pedlow acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to the novel. Rights were acquired from Caspian Dennis at Abner Stein on behalf of Nicole Aragi, Aragi Inc. Harvill Secker will publish in January 2024.

It is tipped by the publisher as “an epic tale of plundered treasure, lasting love and a young man’s dream to make his mark on the world; an exuberant heist novel that traces the bloody legacy of colonialism".

In 18th century India, Abbas, a 17-year-old woodcarver, dreamer and aspiring toymaker is whisked away to Tipu Sultan’s glorious palace in Mysore, southern India. Apprenticed to the legendary clockmaker Monsieur Du Leze, he must create an ingenious musical tiger to delight Tipu’s sons. In the eccentric Du Leze, Abbas finds an unexpected friend who encourages his hunger for learning and through whom he also meets the unforgettable Jehanne. But when British soldiers attack and loot Mysore, Abbas’s world is turned upside down and his prized tiger is shipped off to England. To carve out his place in the world, he must follow.

Pedlow said: “Tania James is an evocative and incisive storyteller and Liz and I couldn’t be more excited to be publishing Loot next year. This is an exquisite, immersive historical novel, with characters to fall in love with and follow on an adventure across the world – but it is also a story alive with longstanding, contemporary concerns, told with pathos and heartache, invention and humour, and an incredible lightness of touch. We are in awe and cannot wait to share with readers here.”

James said: “I’m very happy to be working once again with the team at Harvill Secker, which has brought so many brilliant books into the world.” 

James’ The Tusk That Did the Damage (Vintage) was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2016. Her debut novel Atlas of Unknowns (Simon & Schuster UK) was a New York Times Editor’s Choice and was shortlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian literature. She has also written the short story collection Aerogrammes, and her stories have appeared in the New Yorker and Granta among other publications. From 2011 to 2012, she was a Fulbright fellow to India living in New Delhi. She now lives in Washington DC.