Islands of Mercy

An audacious novel about destiny and desire from the incomparable Rose Tremain

‘A hell of a read… more absorbing than most fiction I’ve read this year’ Sunday Times

She was ‘The Angel of the Baths’, the one woman whose touch everybody yearned for. Yet she would do more. She was certain of that.

In the city of Bath, in the year 1865, an extraordinary young woman renowned for her nursing skills is convinced that some other destiny will one day show itself to her. But when she finds herself torn between a dangerous affair with a female lover and the promise of a conventional marriage to an apparently respectable doctor, her desires begin to lead her towards a future she had never imagined.

Islands of Mercy is a novel that ignites the senses, and is a bold exploration of the human urge to seek places of sanctuary in a pitiless world.

‘One of our most accomplished novelists’ Observer

‘I loved it, and the images continue to haunt me months later. It offered me the perfect escape’ The Lady, Books of the Year 2020