Viking secures 'love letter to forgotten voices' by Costello

Viking has secured The Story Collector, a "love letter to forgotten voices", and one more historical drama by Iris Costello.

Vikki Moynes, senior commissioning editor, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Olivia Maidment at the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency. Viking will publish The Story Collector in February 2024, and a second as yet untitled novel in spring 2025.

The synopsis reads: "The Story Collector is a moving historical mystery that follows the interwoven lives of a German linguistics researcher working in a First World War Prisoner of War (PoW) camp, a tarot reader in war-time London, and a present-day widow, whose discovery of a mysterious box in the walls of her cosy Cornish cottage brings long-lost stories into the light and unlocks a devastating family secret that has lain hidden for over a century."

Moynes commented: "I was instantly captivated by Iris’ absorbing time slip novel that explores the conflict between patriotism and identity so beautifully and evocatively. Iris’s research has imbued the novel with such gloriously rich historical detail: I found myself fascinated by the rise of tarot and spiritualism she depicts during the First World War, something which is having a resurgence now as we grapple with an ever-turbulent world. 

"I know Iris’ fans, both old and new, will be swept away by this story of love, loss and hope."

Costello added: "I am delighted to be working with Viking and the incredible Vikki Moynes on two more historical mysteries. The first one, The Story Collector, is a love letter to forgotten voices and those who seek to preserve and channel them.

"It was inspired both by the work of German linguists who recorded the ‘ordinary voices’ of soldiers in PoW camps during the First World War, and the subsequent rise in spiritualism during that period as, with fatalities growing ever higher, distraught families sought out tarot readers to impart the final messages of their loved ones. I have really enjoyed bringing the stories, and voices, of Edie, Kitty, Miriam, and the elusive Prisoner X, into the light in The Story Collector and I can’t wait for readers to discover them too."