Available Formats
Sinners
By (Author) Elizabeth Fremantle
Penguin Books Ltd
Michael Joseph Ltd
7th October 2025
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Historical crime and mysteries
Family life fiction
Narrative theme: Coming of age
Narrative theme: Sense of place
Feminism and feminist theory
Sexual abuse and harassment
823.92
Paperback
416
Width 153mm, Height 234mm, Spine 40mm
700g
An electrifying tale of rage and resistance that gives voice to the tragic and remarkable story of a young Roman noblewoman, Beatrice Cenci Rome, 1599. A young noblewoman accused of murder, awaits execution. Imprisoned in the Corte Savella, she has captured the hearts and sympathy of all Rome... This is the true and tragic tale of Beatrice Cenci. History has sold her short. She is no doe-eyed victim of her father's brutality, nor the cunning murderer who plotted her father's demise. No, this Beatrice - a woman pregnant by her lover, incarcerated in a remote castle by her father, and brim-full of white-hot rage - is both innocent and guilty, saint and sinner. And she will stand tall in the face of the violence of men, no matter the cost.
An evocative tale of misplaced love and lust at a time when, saint or sinner, no one wins. A gripping read which gallops to a crescendo of an ending * Melanie Cantor *
A sensationally powerful novel with a rollercoaster of a story that has the dark logic of Greek tragedy. It confronts head-on the moral ambiguities and psychological conflict of a woman driven to patricide and it brings to life the brutal and luxurious world in which the murder takes place * Andrew Taylor, bestselling author of The Ashes of London *
I was spellbound by this wonderful book and had to neglect everything else to finish it. Truly, it's one of the best historical novels I have read in a long time. Elizabeth Fremantle evokes so beautifully and convincingly the Italy of the late sixteenth century; her characters are compellingly drawn and her prose is magnificent. I cannot recommend this novel highly enough * Alison Weir, acclaimed historian and novelist *
A dark and brilliant historical novel that reads like a cross between a murder mystery, a true crime drama, and a Jacobean tragedy. You can almost feel the heat and the horror of the sixteenth century. One of the best historical novels I have read in a very long time * Garth Russell, acclaimed historian of Queen James *
A transporting historical thriller 16th century Rome, a heroine (kind-of) and a murder trial * Erin Kelly, bestselling author of He Said, She Said *
Elizabeth Fremantle never misses. Sinners is a fierce and searing feminist retelling of Beatrice Cencis life and murder trial. Fremantles writing cuts through to the quick * Flora Carr, author of The Tower *
I devoured this book, carried along on the wave of our heroines rage. This is a masterclass in writing feminist historical fiction. Absolutely brilliant * Louise Hare, bestselling author of This Lovely City *
Elizabeth Fremantle is the critically acclaimed author of four Tudor historical novels- Firebrand (formerly Queen's Gambit), Sisters of Treason, Watch the Lady and The Girl in the Glass Tower. As E.C. Fremantle she has written two historical thrillers- The Poison Bed and The Honey and the Sting. Her most recent novel, Disobedient, is a feminist retelling of the life of seventeenth-century Italian painter Artemisia Gentileschi. She lives in London.