"Anyone interested in women's history - especially the fate of black women in the Jacobean era - should read this enthralling story which does not rely on a traditional moral core, but offers black humour, vivid episodes and strong characters of both sexes and must have taken years to research in such superb detail. If you want a story to warm cold winter nights, look no further - and hope Stockley does not leave it another 12 years before her next book!" * www.crimereview.co.uk * "Stockley vividly conveys the filth and frivolity of the city and is particularly good on food and fashion. But we're not spared the gruesome underbelly of the city. Black Lily would clearly make a terrific TV series. Stockley's deftly plotted novel has a sting in the tale too. You have to go back to the first chapter to see how beautifully she's set the whole thing up." -- Liz Hoggard * Evening Standard * "As rich and dark as the deadly sweetmeats prepared at the story's end....Philippa Stockley has poured her artistry and knowledge into her latest novel....A deliciously satisfying read, and, like the sweetmeats, one to be gobbled up greedily." * Country Life * "A fascinating and debauched romp, moving with dream-like speed through an incredibly vivid seventeenth-century London. Surely the best-written bodice ripper ever published." -- Andrew Martin "An engrossing, many-layered, richly woven tale of intrigue and skulduggery." * Wendy Moore *