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The Sealed Letter


 On Sale: 06/04/2009
 Formats:     Trade paperback
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Book Description

Based on the details of a scandalous divorce case that gripped England in 1864, The Sealed Letter is a provocative historical drama that is strangely relevant to modern issues surrounding women, marriage, rights and roles.

Miss Emily “Fido” Faithfull is a “woman of business” and a spinster pioneer of the British women’s movement, independent of mind but naively trusting of heart. Distracted from her beloved cause by the sudden return of her once-dear friend, the unhappily wed Helen Codrington, Fido is swept up in the intimate details of Helen’s failing marriage to the stodgy Admiral Harry Codrington. What begins as a loyal effort to help a friend explodes into a courtroom drama more sensational than any Hollywood tabloid could invent—with stained clothing, accusations of adultery, counterclaims of rape and a mysterious letter that could destroy more than one life.

HarperCollins is proud to deliver Emma Donoghue’s internationally celebrated work into the hands of discerning fiction readers in this, her first Canadian publication. The Sealed Letter is the perfect book to mark this milestone event—a masterpiece that brings the force of a life that changed our world into captivating view.


Author Extras

Awards for The Sealed Letter

  • 21st Annual Lambda Literary Awards (Lesbian Fiction Category)
Critical Praise for The Sealed Letter

"A 19th-century feminist has a crush on an old female friend who’s using her in this delicious historical fiction based, as usual with Donoghue, on real-life characters."

NOW Magazine

ISBN: 9781554680375; ISBN10: 1554680379; On Sale: 06/04/2009; Format: Trade paperback; Trimsize: ; Pages: 432; $18.95; Ages: 1 and Up

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The Sealed Letter The Sealed Letter
Based on the details of a scandalous divorce case that gripped England in 1864, The Sealed Letter is a provocative historical drama that is strangely relevant to modern issues surrounding women, marriage, rights and roles. Miss Emily “Fido” Faithfull is a “woman of business” and a spinster pioneer...