A Bitter Remedy

Praise for A Bitter Remedy‘A dead student at Oxford University in the 1880s is the starting point for this deftly-drawn historical mystery. This is a book that fearlessly tackles taboo attitudes of the era, taking aim at misogyny, homophobia, and sexual politics. An excellent addition to the historical mystery canon. Marvellous!’Vaseem Khan, Sunday Times bestselling author‘A compelling mystery, and a deep dive into a very real Victorian Britain. Exquisitely written, ultra-dark and very, very clever’Paul Finch, Sunday Times bestselling author‘The most sublime historical crime fiction is that which is able to combine a thoughtful, complex and engrossing murder mystery with a doorway into a time or place that is perhaps largely unknown or unfamiliar to the reader and that opens up whole new worlds of interest. In A Bitter Remedy, Alis Hawkins achieves just that, and so much more’Chris Lloyd, author of The Unwanted Dead‘A Bitter Remedy is a perfect tonic for our times. Alis Hawkins has given us a host of fresh and engaging characters in a story that zips along like a determined young Welshwoman flying through Victorian Oxford on her tandem’S.G. MacLean, author of The Seeker‘I absolutely loved it. Brilliantly researched, rich in atmosphere and with two likeable and intriguing protagonists at the centre. The start of a series that deserves to run and run’Philip Gwynne Jones, Sunday Times bestselling author‘An evocative sense of time and place, a strong yet flawed protagonist, and a mystifying plotline make A Bitter Remedy most palatable indeed’Douglas Skelton, author of An Honourable Thief‘It’s dripping with historical detail and I loved Non’s passion. The tragic death of Parker was handled sensitively and really drew me in, it’s so well written and the dialogue is edgy and pithy. A superb atmospheric mystery to the last page’Rachel Lynch, author of Dark Game‘A Bitter Remedy is a beautifully written, atmospheric murder story set in 1881 Oxford. An ingenious, complex plot grips the reader from the outset’Mark Ellis, author of Prince’s Gate‘An elixir of intrigue [and] a sparkling historical gem’Nick Louth, author of The Body in the Marsh‘An immersive dose of top-class mystery, A Bitter Remedy is a witty and gritty delight that will keep you guessing … Any fan of historical fiction will want to devour this intricately plotted delight that wears its considerable historical pedigree lightly and with humour’B. E. Jones, author of Where She Went‘Both a neatly constructed novel and a hugely impressive piece of historical research. It shines a fascinating light on the experience of both Welsh students and women in late 19th Century Oxford, and students of the period will appreciate the level of historical detail that lurks within its pages’Martin Davies, author of Mrs Hudson and the Malabar Rose‘An absolute delight. Non is a marvellous creation, and her relationship with Basil Rice is beautifully handled. They are a charismatic and unique pair of amateur detectives. The mystery is twisty until the very end, with revelation after revelation. A Bitter Remedy deserves to be a great hit’David Penny, author For Edwina,who makes me, me. Our advice, always, to everyone, is and will be, if you feel sure you can do something well, offer to do it; if you are prevented, no doubt you will feel guidance within as to how to act.Ein cyngor ni bob amser i bob un, ydyw ac a fydd, os y teimlwch yn sicr y medrwch wneyd rhywbeth yn dda, cynygiwch ei wneyd; os y gwaheddir chwi, ond odid na theimlwch ynoch gyfarwyddyd pa fodd i weithredu.—Cranogwen (Sarah Jane Rees), Y Frythones Chapter 1Tuesday 18th January 1881NonYou can tell a lot from the way an undergraduate walks into a lecture hall. Especially if he’s in company.If he stumbles in, looking over his shoulder, he’s probably been pushed in first because he’s easy to bully.The one who’s jostling with another student or two is one of the lads, he won’t have much to say.A young man who comes in quietly – not first, not last – watchful, aware: he’s one you might think about paying a bit more attention to. One who observes, waits, then acts.But the one you really need to watch out for – the one who’s going to cause you trouble – is the Popinjay. He’s the one who struts in, academic gown worn so far back on his shoulders that he’s barely wearing it at all, displaying his finery while his followers tag along behind him.And make no mistake: they are his followers. Where he goes, they trot along beside him; and where their feet lead, their mouths follow. They go along with him in every way.A Popinjay is trouble; and I watched as one stalked into the Jesus College hall.His eyes fastened on me. And before Lily, my chaperone, could stop me, I was on my feet, all the speeches I’d listened to about appropriate conduct pushed to one side. Because, sometimes, you just have to rise to the challenge.‘Ladies!’ our Popinjay squawked. ‘I do believe you’ve wandered into the wrong building.’I very much wanted to put him in his place – him and his guffawing buffoons – tell him I’d never wandered anywhere in my life, thank you very much. But a speech from Miss Shaw LeFevre, the Principal of Somerville Hall, stuck in my mind.‘When you go into the colleges,’ she’d told us at the beginning of the academic year, when we were gathered in a little, rented lecture room that resembled this panelled and galleried hall about as much as a coracle resembles a frigate, ‘you do not simply represent yourselves, you represent us all. Every frustrated sister who watches her less intelligent brother go off to university while she is obliged to sit at home. Every nurse who knows she has the capacity to be a doctor. You represent those of us in the AEW who work now, and have worked for the last decade, for women to be allowed full access to an Oxford University education. Do not make things more difficult for your