Mrs Robinson's Disgrace

Simply superb -- Alexandra Harris Guardian Extraordinary -- Phillipa Gregory Daily Telegraph Like her previous book, I was hooked after the first few pages. It's as good as non-fiction could possibly get -- Victoria Hislop Daily Mail Grippingly suspenseful ... Mrs Robinson's Disgrace displays a scalpel-sharp investigative mind, and it vividly conveys the immediate surroundings of the case, from the stench of the polluted Thames infiltrating Westminster Hall to the degradations of Victorian marriage, as evidenced in contemporary divorce cases -- John Carey Sunday Times Summerscale strikes nonfiction gold for the third time -- Daneet Steffens Independent on Sunday Summerscale's brilliance lies not only in recognising the power of a particular story, but in charting, with beautiful precision, its strange echoes and reverberations -- Craig Brown Mail on Sunday I'm all admiration: she has turned a sepia photograph, curling and tattered, into a film that runs through the mind in glorious and unimpeachable Technicolor -- Rachel Cooke Observer Mesmerising -- Boyd Tonkin Independent Told with dazzling detail and exquisite tenderness, this non-fiction tale reads like a perfect novel Elle Magazine Utterly engrossing -- Fanny Blake Woman & Home Riveting Metro Absorbing ... a rich and puzzled book -- Philip Hensher Spectator Summerscale puts this peculiar case in a wonderfully rich context of fads of the day ... Her courtroom reconstructions are vivid and enthralling, her research is impeccable and her narration coolly authoritative as she draws together what was happening around her subject and makes Mrs Robinson's volatile state of mind much more explicable -- Claire Harman Evening Standard Fascinating New York Times Book Review Marvellous Vogue A gripping account of Victorian wife Isabella Robinson and her cause celebre divorce trial Harper's Bazaar Meticulously researched -- Maggie Shipstead New York Times Sensational -- Vicky Allen Glasgow Herald Kate Summerscale has a knack for rescuing Victorian histories from obscurity and turning them into the most comprehensive books you're likely to find in any non-fiction section ... Thought-provoking stuff from a writer who, in putting the past in the dock, teaches us about who we are now -- Chitra Ramaswamy Scotsman