Mistress of My Fate

Brought to you by Penguin.

For fans of BBC TV's hit series HARLOTS

My tale is not for the faint of heart.

Born illegitimate in eighteenth-century England, Henrietta Lightfoot reveals the truth about the events that shaped her in this candid confessional of a wide-eyed girl's journey to worldliness.

Forced to flee her childhood home for the capital, Henrietta falls face first into a demi-monde of rakes, rogues, wits, pimps and courtesans. It is not long before she realizes that true liberty is a privilege to be enjoyed by men. But Henrietta is determined to find independence.

In this deliciously deviant novel, Rubenhold illuminates the dark lives of the women written out of eighteenth-century literature by the great male writers. Vibrant and full-blooded, it is an unputdownable picaresque story for our times

'A remarkable picture of a fascinating age' DAILY EXPRESS

'A full-blooded historical' INDEPENDENT

'Two parts Lizzie Bennett and Tom Jones's Sophia Western to one part Moll Flanders' INDEPENDENT

'Combines extraordinary bawdiness with silky sophistication' DAILY EXPRESS

© Hallie Rubenhold 2011 (P) Penguin Audio 2021