What if a work of art was your only means of escape? Scarlet Delamere, an aristocratic orphan, turns to a 16th-century portrait for a way out of the prison her home has become. Character fuses into art and love into politics in this coming of age novel, which centers on a flame-haired nude who looks out silently at the mundane from her gilded frame.

"Wow. This is terrific - compelling and exciting and beautifully written..." —Bernard O'Donoghue, Poet and Emeritus Fellow, Wadham College, Oxford University

"...rich, playful, womanly, terrifying sort of stuff..." —Sian Hughes, poet and creative writing tutor at St Annes College, Oxford University

"...an utter joy to read..." —Mst in Publishing students from the University of Utrecht

"...full of raw talent..." —Chris Miller, critic and translator

"...a virtuoso effort..." —Martin Kemp, Emeritus Professor of the History of Art, Trinity College, Oxford University