THE BEST NEW FICTION

A Net For Small Fishes Lucy Jago

Bloomsbury £16.99 Based on a real Jacobean court scandal, Jago’s thrilling debut is a sumptuous feast of plotting and intrigue at the court of King James, with a feminist slant. Through its central story of the unlikely friendship between a countess and a humble doctor’s wife, it brings to life both the privations of ordinary people and the grandeur of court. A classic historical novel, classily executed.

Simon Humphreys