Becoming Belle

Becoming Belle is the true story of a woman ahead of her time . . . In 1887, Isabel Bilton is the eldest of three daughters of a middle-class military family, growing up in a small garrison town. By 1891 she is the Countess of Clancarty, dubbed "the peasant countess" by the press, and a member of the Irish aristocracy. Becoming Belle is the story of the four years in between, of Belle's rapid ascent and the people that tried to tear her down.

Reimagined by a novelist at the height of her powers, Belle is an unforgettable woman. Set against an absorbing portrait of Victorian London, hers is a timeless rags-to-riches story a la Becky Sharpe.

Praise for BECOMING BELLE:

• 'Nuala O'Connor has the thrilling ability to step back nimbly and enter the deep dance of time. This is a hidden history laid luminously before us of an exultant Anglo-Irish woman navigating the dark shoals and the bright fields of a life' - SEBASTIAN BARRY
• 'Becoming Belle is so mesmerizing you will be distraught when it ends.' - Lisa Carey
• 'Belle's determination to live her life on her own terms makes her a fascinating subject' - Irish Central
• 'Masterful storytelling! I was putty in Nuala O'Connor's hands.' - Lynn Cullen
• 'A glorious novel in which Belle Bilton and 19th century London are brought roaring to life with exquisite period detail' - Hazel Gaynor
• 'Thoroughly engrossing and entertaining read' - Liz Nugent