Bloomsbury to Publish The Restless Girls by Jessie Burton
Illustrated by Angela Barrett
A dazzling, feminist fairytale from the bestselling author of The Miniaturist and The Muse. An essential gift, this inspirational story about family, sisterhood, imagination and bravery is a modern classic to be handed down from mother to daughter for generations
‘A fierce fairytale for the rebel girl’ KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE
‘A complete revelation’ THANDIE NEWTON
‘A magical modern retelling of an old fairytale … Exquisite’ JACQUELINE WILSON
‘Wild, wise, generous, ferocious’ KATHERINE RUNDELL
For her twelve daughters, Queen Laurelia’s death in a motor car accident is a disaster beyond losing a mother. Their father, King Alberto, cannot bear the idea of the princesses ever being in danger and decides his daughters must be kept safe at all costs. Those costs include their lessons, their possessions and, most importantly, their freedom.
But the eldest, Princess Frida, will not bend to his will without a fight and she still has one possession her father can’t take: the power of her imagination. And so, with little but wits and ingenuity to rely on, Frida and her sisters begin their fight to be allowed to live.
- Jessie Burton is the author of two internationally bestselling novels, The Miniaturist and The Muse, which have been translated into 38 languages and sold over a million copies worldwide
- The Miniaturist was adapted for television and aired as a two-part drama on the BBC in 2017
- Inspired by The Twelve Dancing Princesses, this is a truly magical fairytale with a feminist message that will resonate with 21st-century readers
- Full of dancing, jazz music and sparkling lights, the alchemy between Jessie
- Burton’s text and Angela Barrett’s illustrations is storytelling gold
- Bloomsbury will publish Jessie’s second children’s book in autumn 2020
“A magical modern retelling of an old fairytale – the exquisite text and illustrations work in perfect harmony” – Jacqueline Wilson
“It’s critical what we read our kids … Jessie Burton has very cleverly has taken a fairytale that was already standing and loved, but has reframed it. It’s asking you to think of yourself and value yourself in terms other than the way you look, and just that – that one tiny aspect of the book – alone, was, to me, just a complete revelation” – Thandie Newton
Author Biography: Jessie Burton was born in 1982 and went to school in south London. Her favourite
subjects were story writing, sleeping and ice-cream eating. After studying at Oxford University she went on to the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She worked as an actress and a PA before her first novel, The Miniaturist, was published. The Miniaturist was translated into 38 languages and has sold over a million copies around the world. Her second novel, The Muse, was published in July 2016 and is also a no.1 bestseller.