In the suffocating summer of 1858, Sir Edwin Landseer faces the monumental task of sculpting the Trafalgar Square lions.
The nation is watching, the Royal Academy is whispering, and the Queen herself expects brilliance. The press, his doctor and Edwin’s inner demons predict disaster.
As the pressure mounts, beasts begin to stalk Edwin’s increasingly alcohol-fuelled nightmares.
His mind flees from stifling Victorian London to the freedom of the Scottish Highlands, the riotous days of the Regency and the woman who set his world alight.
Georgina: older, adventurous and irreverent. Georgina: married to Edwin’s most influential patron. Georgina: the love of his life.
The world called it a scandal, but the world didn’t know what it was talking about. The world should have called it a tragedy.
Noble Beasts by Lucy Waverley is published on 21 May, 2026.
We’ll have a feature by Lucy in Historia about the background to her debut novel.
For more new historical fiction, have a look at Historia’s list of books coming out in 2026 — nearly 150 of them.
