{"title":"Books by A. K. Blakemore","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781783789214","title":"The Glutton","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Exceptional' \u003ci\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Shocking, sensual and moving... Unfailingly original' \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 18th century is drawing to a close, and unrest grips France. Tarare has been born into a life of slender means, but when a sudden act of violence ignites in him a ferocious appetite, his extraordinary abilities to eat make him a marvel throughout the land. Travelling to Paris and beyond, through the heart of the Revolution, he journeys into a world of upheaval and depravity, in which the hunger of one peasant is matched only by the insatiable demands of the people of France.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A baroque triumph... Unforgettable' \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Incredibly impressive... As original as it is refreshing' \u003ci\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A tour de force of sustained, visceral brilliance' \u003ci\u003eMail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'There are few writers who can be truly likened to Hilary Mantel, but Blakemore is one' \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44581252333746,"sku":"9781783789214","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781783789214_73d9a8f8-92cd-4801-a0fb-fbae2d696e06.jpg?v=1786025575"},{"product_id":"the-manningtree-witches","title":"The Manningtree Witches","description":"'It does not matter what is true, or not true. All that matters is what is written down.' Essex, 1643. In the quiet town of Manningtree, most of the men have gone to fight in the Civil War. With food running out and boredom setting in, seventeen-year-old Rebecca West longs for something, anything to happen.   When a tragic incident involving a local boy coincides with the arrival of the mysterious Matthew Hopkins, the town is plunged into discord. As suspicion and fear take root, Rebecca finds her own girlhood weaponised against her – and is forced to make a devastating choice.   The Manningtree Witches is a thrilling and fierce exploration of fear, control and what happens when women's voices are silenced. A. K. Blakemore's novel was a Sunday Times Book of the Year, winner of the Desmond Elliot Prize and shortlisted for the Costa Debut and Ondaatje Prizes. This stage adaptation by Ava Pickett was first performed at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, in 2026, produced in association with Frantic Assembly, supported by Eleanor Lloyd Productions and directed by Natasha Rickman.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57490146001269,"sku":"9781839045608","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781839045608.jpg?v=1786442032"},{"product_id":"doom-painting","title":"Doom Painting","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe sixteen days of the Peasant's Revolt, when new versions of England were born under the charismatic leader Wat Tyler, brought to life in a dazzlingly inventive novel by the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Manningtree Witches\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is 1381. England, reeling from plague and years of conflict abroad, is a tinderbox waiting to spark. Two childhood friends ride into the town of Brentwood, Essex, where they come upon an altercation with a local Justice bent on squeezing more coin from the masses. Thus begins a rebellion of the common folk - loyal to the king, but not to those wealthy landowners who curtail their freedoms; the multitude finding cause against the powers that threaten their livelihoods.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSet over sixteen days, \u003ci\u003eDoom Painting \u003c\/i\u003eroves across England as the revolt grows and swells and the rebels march to London to take their demands to the child-king Richard II. Out of the rebellion emerges its enigmatic and charismatic leader Wat Tyler, an opportunistic and mercurial rogue whose morality is birthed by the cause, and who shapes an identity for the English which has never been lost.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA. K. Blakemore's thrilling retelling of the Peasants' Revolt renders it a definitive moment in British history. In the meeting of peasantry and nobility, new versions of England are born, and - for one bloody summer - the people of England seize control.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57507810902389,"sku":"9781803512730","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781803512730.jpg?v=1787042951"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-a-k-blakemore.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}