Serpent’s Tail snaps up 'pin-sharp' novel by Women's Prize winner Martin

Serpent’s Tail has snapped up Mrs Gulliver, a novel about "sex, second chances and taking control" by Women’s Prize winner Valerie Martin. 

Rebecca Gray, m.d. at Profile Books, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Molly Friedrich at The Friedrich Agency. The book will be published in hardback and e-book on 7th March 2024.

The book follows Mrs Gulliver, who runs a brothel on a tropical island in 1954. The synopsis adds: "Carità is a new girl she’s taken a chance on – 19 years old, blind since birth and entirely mesmerizing. On a night when business is slow but good, Carità and Ian Drohan – young, idealistic and cushioned by family wealth – meet and instantly fall in love.

"Mrs Gulliver is amused but distrustful of Ian’s intentions for the girl she saved from destitution. Ian on the other hand is determined to save the same girl from sex work and, by extension, the madame she answers to. In the middle is headstrong Carità, believing she holds all the cards. But does she?"

Gray commented: "Valerie Martin won the Women’s Prize with Property [Abacus], a short, sharp shock of a book. Her newest book, Mrs Gulliver is also short, but is a departure in every other way – as much about love as Property was about hate.

"It has all of her gorgeous, understated yet pin-sharp writing about power, people and how the two intertwine. Warm-blooded and sexy, breezy and wise, Mrs Gulliver brims with desire and tropical adventure. I can’t wait to share it with readers in time for summer holiday season."