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Atlantic imprint Corvus has acquired The Favour by Laura Vaughan, as well as a second novel.
Publishing director Sarah Hodgson acquired UK & Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Susan Armstrong at C&W. The Favour will be published in hardback and e-book in March 2021.
The novel will be the lead title for Corvus in 2021, with plans already being made for publication.
Vaughan has previously published 11 novels for children and young adults under the name Laura Powell, but The Favour will be her first novel for adults.
The Favour tells the story of 18-year-old Ada Howell, who is forced to move from her idyllic country house in Wales to suburban London following the death of her wealthy adoptive father.
Ada's godmother gifts her with a trip to Italy, where she meets the kind of cultured and sophisticated peers she has always wanted. Ada does everything she can to fit in, and when one of the group dies under suspicious circumstances she seizes an opportunity to permanently bind herself to these glamorous new acquaintances by burying a secret.
Vaughan was inspired by her own childhood in the Welsh countryside and her gap-year trip to Italy, although her trip did not have the same fateful ending.
Hodgson said: "The Favour is a wonderfully immersive read that grips the reader from the very start with its seductive tale of social climbing set in stunning Italian locations. It will appeal to readers who enjoyed Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, or The Party by Elizabeth Day."