Privilege

Author: Guinevere Glasfurd

18th century France - a world of fountains and gilded porcelain, literary salons and spies... where the right to live and think freely could cost you your life.

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Summary

18th century France - a world of fountains and gilded porcelain, literary salons and spies... where the right to live and think freely could cost you your life.

Description

After her father is disgraced, Delphine Vimond is cast out of her home in Rouen and flees to Paris. Into her life tumbles Chancery Smith, apprentice printer sent from London to discover the mysterious author of potentially incendiary papers marked only D. In a battle of wits with the French censor, Henri Gilbert, Delphine and Chancery set off in a frantic search for D's author. But who is D and does D even exist?

Privilege is a story of adventure and mishap set against the turmoil of mid-18th century France at odds with the absolute power of the King who is determined to suppress opposition on pain of death. At a time when books required royal privilege before they could be published - a system enforced by the Chief Censor and a network of spies - many were censored or banned, and their authors harshly punished. Books that fell foul of the system were published outside France and smuggled back in at great risk.

Costa-shortlisted author Guinevere Glasfurd has conjured a vibrant world of entitlement and danger, where the right to live and think freely could come at the highest cost.

Critic Reviews

Praise for THE WORDS IN MY HAND

shortlisted for the 2016 Costa First Novel Award

Excellent . . . Glasfurd has created an entirely unsentimental love story, with a memorable and engaging heroine. She takes the narrowness of Helena's life and her kicks against its confines, and spins them into an original tale The Times (Book of the Month)
A striking debut . . . Her portrait of love across barriers of class, and of Helena's yearning for education, is a touching one The Sunday Times
An accomplished first novel . . . She brilliantly dissects the complex frustrations of a woman in love with a man consumed by intellectual obsessions. There is much to move us here Guardian
Gloriously readable . . . It feels as though Guinevere Glasfurd has seen into the heart and soul of Helena, as though this really could be her story . . . A truly lovely and captivating debut LoveReading

Praise for THE YEAR WITHOUT SUMMER
Shortlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award 2020
Longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize 2021

Rich in voice, beautifully told, and with a chilling sting in its tail Historical Writers’ Association
Superb . . . a stay-up-all-night page-turner . . . a beautifully written, angry, unflinching and unforgettable novel Financial Times
Glasfurd is a strikingly sharp and subtle writer . . . She has the rare ability to conjure characters vividly in a few deft strokes and the gift, rarer still, of making us care deeply about them Guardian
Another superb saga, rich in both historical detail and human interest Observer
Praise for PRIVILEGE
'Set in eighteenth century France, Privilege takes us into the vividly dramatic world of Delphine, self-taught and rebellious, who is effectively orphaned by her father's arrest. In Paris she meets Chancery, a naive Scottish printer's apprentice who is miles out of his depth in this country where freedom of the press - for both readers and writers - is literally a burning issue. Feminism and censorship are just two of the themes that make this novel very timely in 2022. Tightly plotted and hugely readable. JANE ROGERS, author of PROMISED LANDS
Marvellous . . . fans of immersive historical fiction, the 18th century, all things French and a dash of peril, this one's for you. Emily Brand, author of THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF BYRON
Glasfurd deftly, elegantly captures this volatile world of impoverished attic rooms and gilded literary salons DAILY MAIL
Among historical novelists, Glasfurd rides high... Unsentimentally, she takes us by the lapels and insists we pay attention to her characters... This fine novel is a strong reminder of the sovereign importance of the freedom to seek out the truth, wherever we can find it and, without fear of reprisal, to have it published. Financial Times
A wholly immersive plunge into another world, perfectly realised and a sheer joy to spend time in. Above all, it's a book about books - books and their extraordinary power. Charlie Carroll, author of THE LIP
A wonderfully engaging novel which reminds us why the freedom to write without fear of persecution remains a privilege which we must always defend. Alice Jolly, author of MARY ANN SATE, IMBECILE

About the Author

Guinevere Glasfurd is a critically acclaimed novelist. Her debut novel, The Words in my Hand, was shortlisted for the 2016 Costa First Novel Award and Authors' Club Best First Novel Award and was longlisted in France for the Prix du Roman FNAC. Her second novel, The Year Without Summer, was written with support from the MacDowell Foundation, longlisted for the Walter Scott Historical Fiction Prize 2021 and shortlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award 2020. Awarded grants from the Arts Council England and the British Council for her work, her writing has also appeared in The Scotsman, Mslexia and in a collection published by the National Galleries of Scotland. Originally from Lancaster, she now lives near Cambridge with her husband and daughter.

More on this Book

'I thought of the books we carried and the hands that would one day hold them. The pages read, turned and discussed. And how the book would become thought and the thought then become the person gone out into the world. Let Gilbert try and put a stop to that.' After her father is disgraced, Delphine Vimond is cast out of her home in Rouen and flees to Paris. Into her life tumbles Chancery Smith, apprentice printer sent from London to discover the mysterious author of potentially incendiary papers marked only D. In a battle of wits with the French censor, Henri Gilbert, Delphine and Chancery set off in a frantic search for D's author. But who is D and does D even exist? Privilege is a story of adventure and mishap set against the turmoil of mid-18th century France at odds with the absolute power of the King who is determined to suppress opposition on pain of death. At a time when books required royal privilege before they could be published - a system enforced by the Chief Censor and a network of spies - many were censored or banned, and their authors harshly punished. Books that fell foul of the system were published outside France and smuggled back in at great risk.Costa-shortlisted author Guinevere Glasfurd has conjured a vibrant world of entitlement and danger, where the right to live and think freely could come at the highest cost.