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Polygon will publish a debut novel it has described as a “tour de force of storytelling”.
Neville Moir and Alison Rae acquired Wasp by Ian Garbutt from Jenny Brown of Jenny Brown Associates.
Set in “the rich and seamy underworld of England in the 18th century” the novel is about a disgraced governess, Bethany, who is brought to the mysterious House of Masques, which offers a sanctuary for young women on the margins of society. There, she becomes an "English geisha", and soon a power struggle ensues which brings the house to near ruin.
Rae said: “Wasp by Ian Garbutt is a tour de force of storytelling which will appeal to readers of Perfume, and Crimson Petal and the White.”
Garbutt, who has worked in journalism and publishing, was awarded a Scottish Arts Council New Writer’s Bursary.
Polygon, an imprint of Birlinn, is to publish Wasp in spring 2015.