Thank you too, to all the book bloggers and booksellers who have supported me, I am so grateful for all you do. In particular thank you to Dan Bassett at Waterstones Cribbs Causeway, Diane Park at Wave of Nostalgia in Haworth, Cody Duffy at Waterstones Liverpool, Julia Zarychta at Waterstones Victoria, Sarah Whyley at Heffers in Cambridge and to Kim Morris and team at West End Lane Books.

Closer to home, my Mum, Suzy Kendall, is my first reader and most enthusiastic cheerleader, my Dad, Sandy Harper, was my first and favourite storyteller, and my dearest son Jonathon fills every day with love.

And then there are my siblings—this book is for you. Thank you to Ruth for being a wonderful sister-in-law and for sharing so much of your own beautiful writing life. I have such admiration for you. Thank you to Eugenie for being the best sister I could have hoped for—you turned up, uninvited, at the hardest time and gave me hope. Whenever I feel down, I remember the way you were there when I needed you most. And thank you to my brother, Tom, for keeping me company throughout all the ups and downs, always understanding, never judging and for being a source of constant love and support. How lucky I am to be your sister.

Sneak Peek of The House with the Golden Door

Turn the page for an exclusive sneak peek of Elodie Harper’s second book in the Wolf Den Trilogy:

THE HOUSE WITH THE GOLDEN DOOR

ELODIE HARPER

Available from Union Square & Co. in September 2022

75 CE

PARENTALIA

1

“Man alone of living creatures has been given grief . . . and likewise ambition, greed and a boundless lust for living.”

—Pliny the Elder, Natural History

The painter stands balanced on a wooden platform, his brushstrokes hidden from sight as he brings the goddess to life. Amara watches him. The rest of the fresco is complete, a hunting scene encircling her small garden. Only Diana’s face is unfinished. She breathes in deeply, enjoying the scents of spring. Narcissi lie scattered at her feet like white stars, and the air is sweet with them.

“Nobody could do justice to her beauty,” the painter remarks, standing back briefly from his work to scrutinize it, before busying himself with the brush again.

Amara knows he does not mean the goddess Diana. She could have hired anyone to paint a god, but she chose this man, Priscus, because he was once the lover of her friend Dido and the only artist capable of drawing her likeness. “I know that you will,” she replies. Or she certainly hopes so. The rest of the painting was done by his craftsmen at a far cheaper rate. It cost ten times as much to hire Priscus, the master of the firm, to immortalize her friend.

“She was the most exquisite woman,” Priscus says. “There was a lightness to her unlike anyone else. I can still remember the way she sang.”