The Goddess and the Thief

'A fabulous foray into a shadowy Victorian world'WOMAN&HOMEA beguiling novel of Victorian theft and obsession from the bestselling author of THE SOMNAMBULIST.Uprooted from her home in India, Alice is raised by her aunt, a spiritualist medium in Windsor. When the mysterious Mr Tilsbury enters their lives, Alice is drawn into a plot to steal the priceless Koh-i-Noor diamond, claimed by the British Empire at the end of the Anglo-Sikh wars.Said to be both blessed and cursed, the sacred Indian stone exerts its power over all who encounter it: a handsome deposed maharajah determined to claim his rightful throne, a man hell-bent on discovering the secrets of eternity, and a widowed queen who hopes the jewel can draw her husband's spirit back. In the midst of all this madness, Alice must discover a way to regain control of her life and fate...'An obvious comparison is with early Sarah Waters' GUARDIAN