Little, Brown lures Quinn from Cape in two-book deal

Little, Brown has lured Anthony Quinn away from previous publisher Jonathan Cape in a two-book deal.

Richard Beswick, publishing director, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Jon Wood at RCW. The first book in the deal, London, Burning, will be published in March 2021.

The synopsis explains: “London, Burning is a novel about the end of the 1970s, and the end of an era. It concerns a nation divided against itself, a government trembling on the verge of collapse, a city fearful of what is to come, and a people bitterly suspicious of one another. In other words, it is also a novel about now.”

Quinn, a former Independent film critic, is the author of seven novels, the most recent of which was spy novel Our Friends in Berlin (Jonathan Cape), released last year.

Beswick said: “Anthony Quinn is one of the very best contemporary British novelists. He creates believable and compelling characters; delivers acute psychological observation, a wonderful sense of time and place and first-rate plotting. How many people can do all this?”