Head of Zeus snaps up Gardner’s love letter to Regency London

Head of Zeus has landed The Weather Woman by Sally Gardner, a “luminous” novel set in the 18th century, during the time of the frost fairs that were held on the frozen Thames.

Senior editor Rosie de Courcy acquired world all language rights from Catherine Clarke at Felicity Bryan Associates. The book will be published in hardback and e-book under the Apollo Fiction imprint on 10th November 2022.

The novel tells the story of Neva Friezland, a woman born with the ability to predict the weather. “In Regency England, where the proper goal for a gentlewoman is marriage and only God knows the weather, this is dangerous,” the synopsis explains. “It is also potentially very lucrative. In order to debate with the men of science and move about freely, Neva adopts a sophisticated male disguise. She foretells the weather from inside an automaton created by her brilliant clockmaker father. But what will happen when the disguised Neva falls in love with a charismatic young man?”

De Courcy said: “I have always adored Sally’s luminous, imaginative writing, but this story has an especially joyous quality, with some of the most engaging characters you will ever meet in the pages of a novel. Set between the two great Thames frost fairs in 18th-century London, it is a story about identity and disguise, about the seductive dangers of power and above all, it is about love”.

Gardner gained a first-class degree at a leading London art college and became a theatre costume designer before illustrating and writing books. Her début novel, I, Coriander (Orion Children’s Books) won the Nestlé Gold Award and she is also a Costa and Carnegie prize-winner. 

She said: “No book is an island and a writer needs more than just a sprinkling of luck – they need a great publishing house, and a great editor, as well as a dedicated team behind it. I am so fortunate to have found this with Rosie de Courcy and her team at Head of Zeus.”

Clarke added: “Full of imagination, intrigue and gorgeous detail, The Weather Woman is a love letter to Regency London in all its glories and darker shadows, and a brilliantly original story about a young girl whose gift for predicting the weather transforms her own life and the fortunes of those close to her. Head of Zeus is the perfect publishing home for this wonderful novel.”