Little Spark by Kidd, Jess

Description

Author: Kidd, JessHistorical fictionPublished on 13 August 2026 by Canongate Books in the United Kingdom.Hardback | 352 pages, b/w map illustration143 x 222 x 33 | 454g
A SUNDAY TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION PICK 2026A sumptuous Gothic mystery NAT REEVE, author of NETTLEBLACKKidd has imagination to die for GuardianThis tale of secrets and mysteries is steeped in atmospheric suspense. Gothic, yes, but galvanised by flashes of inventive wonder Mail on SundayWildly imaginative . . . [a] terrific steampunk tale Daily MailA secret cannot stay locked away forever Bodkin Bell, orphan, pickpocket and survivor, doesnt know where she came from, but she knows shes different. Gaslights flare as she walks past. Cutlery spins. Shocks fly from her fingertips.For years, she was Little Spark, the star of an electrifying travelling act until it went too far and she ended up in a London gaol.Now shes been offered a way out. A chance to serve at Point Mote, a vast, desolate house marooned on the misty Kent marshes. There, she will assist a reclusive family of cunning inventors in the creation of automata: miraculous, lifelike machines for which gentlemen collectors will pay handsomely.But this house of wonders hides mysteries too. As Bodkin starts to question why she is really there, she unearths secrets that have been buried bone-deep for years and a truth beyond all imagining. One that was never meant to be found.