TV rights optioned for Turton’s high concept murder mystery

TV rights for Stuart Turton’s debut The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (Bloomsbury) have been optioned by House Productions ahead of the book's UK publication in February 2018.

Emily Hayward-Whitlock from The Artists Partnership Ltd negotiated the deal on behalf of Harry Illingworth from DHH Literary Agency.

Touted as "'Gosford Park' meets 'Inception', by way of Agatha Christie", The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a "brilliantly original high concept murder mystery", according to the publisher. The novel has garnered praise from author Sophie Hannah, who said: "This book blew my mind. It is utterly original and unique. I couldn't get it out of my head for days afterwards".

Raven Books, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, will release The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle in the UK and India in February 2018, and in Australia in March. Sourcebooks will publish as a lead hardback in the US next September. The novel has been sold in six territories so far.

Illingworth said: "I’m beyond delighted that House Productions, has optioned Stuart’s debut novel for TV. Seven Deaths is a superb book that I believe has the potential to capture a huge audience so the idea of seeing it on screen is quite something. Once people start reading the novel, they’ll see what a unique visual experience it would be and just how exciting a prospect this really is…"