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Allison & Busby has acquired a "bold and timely" novel focused on Mary Wollstonecraft’s life by novelist and screenwriter Samantha Silva.
UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, in Love and Fury were acquired by publishing manager Lesley Crooks, from Kerry Nordling at St Martin’s Press on behalf of Emma Parry at Janklow & Nesbit.
Publication is set for June 2021.
Described as "bold and timely" by the publisher, the novel opens on the day Wollstonecraft goes into labour with the baby who will grow up to be Mary Shelley, and retells the writer and early feminist's life story. Best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Wollstonecraft's chaotic early family life is explored as well as personal and career highs and lows, pivotal relationships and her travels across Europe.
Crooks said: "Reading Love and Fury while the media spotlight was on Wollstonecraft and Maggi Hambling's statue certainly contributed to my excitement about this striking and intimate exploration of her life. Mary retelling her life story to her frail daughter was compelling, and the struggles Mary faces and her powerful voice resonated with me strongly. I'm sure I won't be the only one."
Silva said: "Mary Wollstonecraft has burst back onto the scene, as relevant as ever. In writing Love and Fury I wanted to highlight her life and shout about her relevancy to new generations of women still fighting for equality."