CRIMSON AND BONE

London, 1853. On a freezing January night a lone figure steps on to the parapet of Waterloo Bridge, determined to end it all. She is Annie Stride, a penniless prostitute with nothing to live for. She is pulled back from the brink by Francis Maybrick Gill, a talented young Pre-Raphaelite artist. Recognising Annie's fabulous beauty Francis makes her his muse, and his paintings of her as the fallen women of history transform his fortunes and hers. Francis whisks Annie off to Italy to paint her as Mary Magdalene, the original fallen woman. Living in Florence as Francis's wife, Annie learns more of his dark sexual appetites, but nothing of his history. What takes Francis into Florence every night alone? And what is the significance of the white alabaster jar which Francis protects with his life? A dark and sexual tale spanning Victorian London, Florence and Venice, CRIMSON & BONE is the story of what happens when love goes wrong.

Marina Fiorato is half-Venetian. She is a history graduate of Oxford University and the University of Venice, where she specialized in the study of Shakespeare's plays as an historical source. After University she studied art and since worked as an illustrator, actress and film reviewer. She also designed tour visuals for rock bands including U2 and the Rolling Stones. She was married on the Grand Canal and lives in North London with her husband, son and daughter. In both the US and the UK there is a large print run and the book is being published as a bestseller. She is getting superb reviews.

Marina has been shortlisted for the RNA Historical Novel of the Year Award and Hodder has put her in for the Richard and Judy Book Club.

Germany – Limes, Italy-Editrice Nord, Norway-Vega Forlag, Macedonia- Tri Publishing, Russia-Byblos, Bulgaria-Kragozor, Hungary-Nouvion, Turkey – Beyaz Balina Yalinlari, Slovenia – Ucila, Romania – Group Media Litera, Holland - Anthos