A remarkable micro-history from the author of The Sleepwalkers and Revolutionary SpringNow part of the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, the former Prussian and German port of Königsberg has always been a somewhat sleepy place, doomed to be famous for having once been the residence of Immanuel Kant. But in the late 1830s, just for a short while, it became famous for all the wrong reasons.Christopher Clark's brilliant new book is the result of many years of fascination with this strange case. Sensational accusations were bandied about, implying that beneath the town's somnolent surface there were dark erotic currents and wrenching betrayals of trust. For the Prussian authorities this was just the sort of moral collapse they feared most. In the aftermath of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, which had unsettled a generation, every lapse could be seen as the harbinger of new storms.A Scandal in Königsberg beautifully brings to life a time and a place that we would now situate in the tranquil 'Biedermeier' years between the seismic upheavals of the 1810s and 1840s. But there is a timeless quality to this small vortex of turbulence, in which spiritual hunger, vanity, professional rivalry, sexual incontinence, naivety and sheer human waywardness threatened to tear a city apart.
Wednesday meets The Secret Garden in this gorgeously gothic and mysterious adventure about family secrets, devilishly bad deeds, and a touch of murder . . . From the bestselling author of The Unadoptables and The Midnighters, and perfect for fans of The Swifts and Murder Most Unladylike.Once, the great house of Skulkmoor stood proudly on its hillside, commanding the attention of anyone who came by. Now, it is a curious puzzle of a place - not least thanks to the giant wall which cuts it straight in half, separating the two warring families that live inside it.For you see, a hundred years ago, the Fox family was torn apart by a murder - and a question of inheritance. With no clear heir, the vast family fortune - and the house - has been literally divided in two. But now, two young cousins, one from each rival side of Skulkmoor, must team up to solve the decades-old crime - or face losing their home forever.Can Ted and Iris put their differences aside and save their family fortune - or will they play their part in destroying everything?Praise for Hana Tooke'A high-speed, witty, absurd and joyful adventure' - Katherine Rundell on The Unadoptables 'A corker of a story' - Emma Carroll on The Unadoptables