The Dazzle of the Light - by Georgina Clarke (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A sparkling new historical novel set in the 1920s, inspired by the notorious all-female crime syndicate known as the Forty Thieves who operated out of the slums of south London

Ruby Mills is ruthlessly ambitious, strikingly beautiful - and one of the Forty Thieves' most talented members.

Harriet Littlemore writes the women's section in a local newspaper. She's from a 'good' London family and engaged to an up-and-coming Member of Parliament - but she wants a successful career of her own.

After witnessing Ruby fleeing the scene of a robbery, Harriet develops a fascination with the elusive young thief that extends beyond journalistic interest. As their personal aspirations bring them into closer contact than society's rules usually allow, Ruby and Harriet's stories become increasingly intertwined.

Their magnetic dynamic, fraught with envy and desire, tells a compulsive, cinematic story about class, morality and the cost of being an independent woman in 1920s London.

Review Quotes

"Adroitly capturing class distinctions, moving with ease from the highest echelons to the lowest, Clarke immerses the reader in a society trying to regain its equilibrium after the devastation of war and a world-wide pandemic. Best of all, the writing is terrific." -- Historical Novel Society

"In the sinuous historical novel The Dazzle of the Light, two women longing for empowerment develop a realistic understanding of their fragile places within the circles that embrace and confine them" -- Foreword Reviews

'Fans of Sarah Waters and Kate Atkinson will adore this compelling, evocative and utterly gripping tale... It deserves to be huge' - Sarra Manning, author, Guitar Girl

'With a touch of Killing Eve, dutiful journalist Harriet becomes obsessed by one of the thieves, Ruby Mill, and what it really means to be an independent woman.' --Evening Standard, The Best New Books for 2022

'I was completely transported to the underbelly of 1920s London and relished every thrilling page... As dazzling as the title suggests!' --Annie Lyons, author, The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett

'Clarke conjures feminine wiles and willfulness, gutsy girl gangsters and their seedy surroundings with immersive, sparkling flair. You'll never go shopping again without thinking of Ruby!' - Harriet Walker, Times fashion editor and author of The Wedding Night

'This was a marvellous read... Two fabulous protagonists, you will be rooting for them both' - Prima

'Immersive, compelling and darkly seductive' - Laura Carlin, author of The Wicked Cometh

'Riveting... we follow Ruby from the thieves' den to louche nightclubs, rooting for her all the way' --Times

About the Author

Georgina Clarke has a degree in theology and completed a PhD in history part-time, while working as a parish priest. Her love of the past is at the heart of her fiction: her Lizzie Hardwicke crime series is set in the mid-eighteenth century, and her latest novel - The Dazzle of the Light - unfolds in 1920s London and is inspired by the real-life activities of the women-led Forty Thieves crime syndicate. In 2021, Georgina began working as a tutor at The Queen's Foundation in Birmingham, training clergy. When she's not working, she enjoys dressmaking, running and mooching around old houses. She lives in Worcester with her husband, son and two lively cats.