An orphaned fortune teller in 18th-century England searches for answers about her long-dead mother and uncovers shocking secrets in this immersive and atmospheric saga perfect for fans of Sarah Waters and Sarah Perry.

Cornwall, 1730: A young girl known only as Red travels with her father making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient Cornish method of the Square of Sevens. Shortly before he dies, her father entrusts Red’s care to a gentleman scholar, along with a document containing the secret of the Square of Sevens technique.

Raised as a lady amidst the Georgian splendor of Bath, Red’s fortune-telling delights in high society. But she cannot ignore the questions that gnaw at her soul: who was her mother? How did she die? And who are the mysterious enemies her father was always terrified would find him?

The pursuit of these mysteries takes her from Cornwall and Bath to London and Devon, from the rough ribaldry of the Bartholomew Fair to the grand houses of two of the most powerful families in England. And while Red’s quest brings her the possibility of great reward, it also leads to grave danger.

Laura Shepherd-Robinson, has written a dazzling and Dickensian story of mystery and intrigue, with audacious twists and turns.

My Review

This is not my first book by this author – I read Daughters of Night in February 2021 – I had completely forgotten. But The Square of Sevens is in a different league. One of my favourite books of the year, it is so cleverly plotted, it literally took my breath away.

Set in London, Bath, Devon and Cornwall, our main character, simply known as Red, is initially a child of eight or nine, travelling with her father ‘making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient Cornish method of ‘The Square of Sevens’.** Red can already read the cards and they are getting along nicely until her father dies and she is taken in by Robert Antrobus, who is fascinated by all things scholarly. It is here that Red becomes a lady, now known as Rachel Antrobus.

I don’t know Bath at all really, but I do know Devon and Cornwall, and I am actually reading this while staying in Mullion. I recognise many of the places mentioned in the book.

As Rachel grows into a young woman, she discovers that she is related to one of the richest and most powerful families in the country, and she worms her way into their affections by telling their fortunes. She has her eye on what should be her rightful inheritance, and to be honest will stop at almost nothing to get it. But the family will literally stop at nothing to prevent her, including murder.

However, there is a massive twist at the end, which really changes the whole narrative. And I do love an unreliable narrator! But that’s all I can say for now.

** Born in 1858, Edward Irenaeus Prime-Stevenson was an American writer, who wrote under the pseudonym Xavier Mayne.  In 1896, Stevenson published The Square of Sevens, and the Parallelogram: An Authoritative Method of Cartomancy with a Prefatory Note by the real Robert Antrobus that was supposedly written in 1735. However, it is believed that Prime-Stevenson was the author and that The Square of Sevens wasn’t a real method of cartomancy at the time of the book. Source Wikipedia

About the Author

Laura Shepherd-Robinson was born in Bristol in 1976. She has a BSc in Politics from the University of Bristol and an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics. Laura worked in politics for nearly twenty years before re-entering normal life to complete an MA in Creative Writing at City University. She lives in London with her husband, Adrian.