Julia Pennefather has spent her life longing for the security of a home and family.
Ellen Fugill knows the price of loyalty in a world where servants are expected to see everything and say nothing.
And talented Ada Ashley arrives concealing a secret past that makes her painfully vulnerable.
When disaster strikes, the women do not confront the truth but deny it. Stifling the voice of conscience, they each make choices shaped by fear, love and the limits placed on them by Victorian convention.
Choices that cannot be undone.
As the consequences ripple through their lives, the cost of silence becomes impossible to ignore.
In a society that offers women few options, and even fewer protections, survival depends on endurance. But sometimes that is not enough.
A Fatal Choice by Alison Baxter is published on 10 June, 2026.
Read Alison’s feature about the true family tragedy that inspired her novel.
If you enjoy historical fiction, there’s much more in Historia’s round-up of nearly 160 books coming out in 2026.
