A New York Times Notable Book

Acclaimed author Ann Patchett's debut novel, hailed as "beautifully written . . . a first novel that second- and third-time novelists would envy for its grace, insight, and compassion" (Boston Herald)

St. Elizabeth's, a home for unwed mothers in Habit, Kentucky, usually harbors its residents for only a little while. Not so Rose Clinton, a beautiful, mysterious woman who

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Smuggling pages from a forbidden book is a small act of defiance against Queen Elizabeth I, but it entangles Joan Pryce in a plot that may cost her both her heart and her life. Joan is not only Catholic--her beliefs outlawed by the queen--but also Welsh, a people long oppressed by the English. When Joan's father dies, she is cast out from her home. Nicholas, the childhood friend she was supposed to marry, is a cold stranger, disfigured by an accident...

In Boston, a young woman finds herself pregnant--even though she is still a virgin.In Ireland, another young woman discovers she is in the same impossible condition.And in cities all around the world, medical authorities are overwhelmed by epidemics, droughts, famines, floods, and worse. It all feels like a sign that something awful is coming.Anne Fitzgerald, a former nun turned private investigator, is hired by the Archdiocese of Boston to investigate...

Mallory Bright is the only daughter of London's master locksmith. For her there is no lock too elaborate, no secret too well kept. Sir Francis Walsingham, spymaster and protector of Queen Elizabeth, the last of the Tudor monarchs, and her realm, is quick to realise Mallory's talent and draws her into his world of intrigue, danger and deception. With her by his side, no scheme in England or abroad is safe from discovery; no plot secure. But Mallory's...