The Sunday Times Top Five Bestseller
A BBC Two Between the Covers Book Club Pick
A Guardian 'Best Crime and Thrillers of 2023' Pick

Laura Shepherd-Robinson's The Square of Sevens is an epic and sweeping novel set in Georgian high society, a dazzling story offering up mystery, intrigue, heartbreak, and audacious twists.

This is your story, Red. You must tell it well . . .

A girl known only as Red, the daughter of a Cornish fortune-teller, travels with her father making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient method: the Square of Sevens. When her father suddenly dies, Red becomes the ward of a gentleman scholar.

Now raised as a lady amidst the Georgian splendour of Bath, her fortune-telling is a delight to high society. But she cannot ignore the questions that gnaw at her soul: who was her mother? How did she die? And who are the mysterious enemies her father was always terrified would find him?

The pursuit of these mysteries takes her from Cornwall and Bath to London and Devon, from the rough ribaldry of the Bartholomew Fair to the grand houses of two of the most powerful families in England. And while Red's quest brings her the possibility of great reward, it also leads her into grave danger . . .

'A wonderfully inventive novel' — The Times and Sunday Times, Best Historical Fiction of 2023

'A masterpiece' — Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal

'A sweeping Dickensian tour de force of a novel' — Susan Stokes-Chapman, bestselling author of Pandora

'I doubt I’ll read a better book this year' — Chris Whitaker, bestselling author of We Begin at the End

"With its twists and turns and revelations of those lies that bind and truths that rend asunder, this story is a deep pleasure to read" - Sunday Times

"This is an intricately plotted, epic book that delivers twist after twist in its 560 pages. A big, satisfying and clever read" - The Times

"Laura Shepherd-Robinson is riding high in the historical crime stakes; this is a sprawling epic novel set in Georgian high society, with its lively fortune-telling heroine Red unearthing her own lethal legacy" - Financial Times

"The Square of Sevens shows a novelist approaching the peak of her powers. It's ingeniously plotted, panoramic and deeply satisfying. . . filled with period colour, clever twists and turns, and the best set of characters this side of Dickens. It will keep you guessing until the final pages" - Daily Express

"This has all the charm and intricate plotting that we expect from Laura’s books – it is exquisitely, meticulously plotted and you’ll want to curl up and absorb it all in as few readings as possible. For me, it’s reminiscent of Sarah Waters – praise that is richly deserved" - Belfast Telegraph

"[A] clever story...its characters flit between London's slums and palatial estates where misdirection and conspiracies abound" - Washington Post