An unforgettable new novel by the award-winning author of the international French bestseller The Godmother.

She had been dead now for four days and I had become rich. Unimaginably rich.

Blanche de Rigny has always considered herself the black sheep of the family. And a black sheep on crutches at that. But it turns out her family tree has branches she didn’t even know existed. And many of them are rotten to the core. As Blanche learns more about the legacy left by her wealthy Parisian ancestors, she decides a little family tree pruning might be in order.

But great wealth also brings great responsibility – a form of richesse oblige, perhaps – and Blanche has a plan to use her inheritance to cure the world of its ills.

Spanning two centuries, from Paris on the eve of the Franco-Prussian War to the modern day, this unforgettable family saga lays bare the persistent and poisonous injustice of inequality. In her trademark razor-sharp style, Hannelore Cayre again delivers the sardonic humour and devilish creativity that made The Godmother an international bestseller.

Hannelore Cayre is a French writer, director and criminal lawyer. Her most recent work, The Godmother, won the European Crime Fiction Prize and the Grand Prix de Litterature Polici re and has been shortlisted for a Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Award. The Godmother was also featured on The New York Times’ ‘I00 Notable Books of 2019’ list and has been made into a major film starring Isabelle Huppert.

Stephanie Smee left a career in law to work as a literary translator. Recent publications include the translations of Hannelore Cayre’s The Godmother and Francoise Frenkel’s rediscovered WWII memoir No Place to Lay One’s Head won the JQ-Wingate Prize. Her translation of Joseph Ponthus’ prize-winning book, On the Line is forthcoming.