Actress, presenter and author Janet Ellis trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Best known for presenting Blue Peter, she stars in numerous radio and TV programmes and in 2018 appeared at the Edinburgh Festival. In 2016 Janet was awarded an MBE for services to charities and theatre.A graduate of the Curtis Brown creative writing course, her debut novel, The Butcher's Hook, was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize.janetellis.comtwitter.com/missjanetellisinstagram.com/missjanetellis
Janet Ellis's appealing debut novel is like a cross between Fanny
Burney's Evelina and US crime drama Dexter... Ellis excels at the
poetics of flesh. She writes with a keen eye for the texture of
skin and the meat beneath. She vividly describes the slaughter of a
calf, the wet thwack of the knife, the cleaving of muscle from
bone, the hot rush of blood. Anne, we come to realise, is something
of a sociopath. This is where The Butcher's Hook gets really
interesting ... There's a wit and a richness to the writing, a nice
way with pastiche, and a real feel for the macabre. And, in Anne,
she has created an engaging and at times daringly amoral
heroine.
*Observer (Paperback of the Week)*
Ellis has a public personality of great charm, and a good deal of
this gets into her writing... she revels in the historical details,
has a grasp of pace and knows how to keep her audience hooked
*The Times*
The Butcher's Hook doesn't read like a first novel - it is a
high-finish performance. Its heroine is an 18th-century teenage
girl, who starts demurely although her sex drive turns out to be
anything but demure. You need to be braced for violence to rival
any Jacobean tragedy: The Butcher's Hook will hook you.
*Observer (New Faces of Fiction)*
This author remains one to watch. She has a sharp eye and a sharper
wit. More importantly still, she possesses a subtle and
compassionate understanding of the human heart
*Guardian*
A strange, unsettling story
*The Sunday Times*
This is a dark, weird, gloriously feminist story of a girl in 1763
pushing against the limits of her role and a dark love story.
*Elle UK (Best New Books for 2016)*
A story of dispassionate, bloody brilliance rich in believable
period detail
*Metro*
Actress and former Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis has created a
surprising blend of psychological thriller and revenge tragedy in
her debut novel... In Vanity Fair, Thackeray demonstrated how
society determines character, and this suggestion underlies Ellis's
robust and textured vision of the Georgian mindset. But from it
emerges an unsettling portrait of a deeply damaged individual whose
capacity for creating mayhem is timeless
*Daily Mail*
A gripping girl-power story
*Sun*
Ellis weaves her tale with deft skill, striking imagery and a
boldness rare in a first novel
*Mail on Sunday*
The debut novel from the ex-Blue Peter presenter is a doozy
*Glamour*
Janet Ellis has written one of the most hotly-tipped debuts of
2016
*Daily Express (Books To Look Out For In 2016)*
Former Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis has burst on to the
literary scene with a bodice-ripping thriller... Ellis evokes the
sights, sounds and smells of Georgian London and turns a telling
phrase that captures on 18th-century cadence
*Daily Express*
Anne Jaccob is the audacious heroine of this dark, historical debut
from former Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis
*Sunday Express*
Dark, packed with surprises and with a feisty unforgettable
heroine, this is a top-class debut
*Woman & Home (Best Books To Read in February)*
a spirited, dark debut set in Georgian London with a heroine who
will stop at nothing to get what she wants
*Woman and Home*
A cracking read... An atmospheric walk through the streets of 1763
London as Anne seeks to be in charge of her own destiny. She finds
herself falling for the butcher's apprentice, but her father has
already chosen a husband for her..."
*Prima magazine*
The sonnets of John Donne provide a brooding counterpoint to the
gruesome turns of this nervy historical novel. Ellis's calculating
19-year-old narrator, Anne Jaccob, dwells in what may be the
bleakest house in 18th-century London... Trained as an actor, Ellis
reveals that pedigree in wry winks to Shakespeare (the butcher's
name is Titus) and dramatis personae evocative of commedia
dell'arte (a foppish suitor, a predatory doctor, a dashing lover).
More unsettling than its Grand Guignol shocks, the novel's third
act gives us the acrid and increasingly disconnected voice of its
protagonist, a sociopath-in-training who projects onto her
environment the pain and distortions wrought by her own sense of
victimhood: a sky "the color of an old man's snot" and a home so
forlorn that "the mice here probably throw themselves on the traps
for a quicker end."
*New York Times*
An absolute page turner
*Nadia Sawalha, Sunday Express*
This bawdy debut novel bodes well for a successful new career
*Choice Magazine*
fun, grimy and romantic, as well as being a properly rollicking
adventure
*The Debrief*
A highly accomplished piece of work...there's no doubt that Janet
Ellis is an author of genuine talent
*Reader's Digest*
Within one chapter I was hooked.
*Woman's Weekly*
Dark and sometimes bloody, it can be an unsettling read. Yet it's
also a gripping work of fiction, full of twists and surprises, and
Anne, who tells her own story in her own idiosyncratic voice, is a
distinctively disturbing character
*BBC History Magazine*
Coursing with sexual awakening, this is a compelling story of a
young woman... Janet Ellis has a magnetic style that draws you into
surprising realms of what can be achieved if the will is strong
enough
*Sainsbury's Magazine*
A dark debut
*Pyschologies Mag*
Punchy and fast-moving. Janet Ellis' period piece brilliantly
captures the visceral sights and smells of the time and regardless
of (or because of) her twisted morals, Anne's strong voice reels
you right in.
*Sydney Morning Herald*
The Butcher's Hook is bewitching: Anne Jaccob is a dark and
dangerous heroine and her story is gripping and full of surprises.
This is an exciting and hugely impressive debut from Janet
Ellis.
*Antonia Hodgson, bestselling author of THE DEVIL IN THE
MARSHALSEA*
The rush of this novel is its macabre sense of justice... A
sexually heightened gothic of the type de Sade would approve... The
events in The Butcher's Hook predate the French Revolution by 26
years, but there's a similar sense here of ambition unfairly tamped
by an unjust social order. That's the thrill of the bloodbath when
Anne takes the law into her own hands.
*The Globe and Mail*
Ellis has created something marvellous in the character of Anne
Jaccob - her voice is strange, dark and utterly mesmeric. This is
historical fiction as I've never encountered it before: full of
viscera, snarling humour and obsessive desire. I loved it.
*Hannah Kent, bestselling author of BURIAL RITES*
Anne is a heroine unlike any we've met before in historical fiction
- prickly, amoral, opportunistic, determined to eke what happiness
she can from life, even if it means spilling a bit of blood.
*Toronto Star*
Beautifully crafted. Janet Ellis is a masterful storyteller
*Clare Mackintosh, bestselling author of I LET YOU GO*
Janet Ellis has given us a tale set in Georgian London which
possesses all the well-plotted intrigue and gritty reality of these
great predecessors (Dickens' Bleak House and Brontë's Jane Eyre) -
yet Ellis' heroine has a steely determination to break out of the
constraints of her circumstances and get the man she wants at any
cost.
This is a distinctly original novel of a young woman's sexual
awakening... She is savvy enough to see the shortcomings of those
around her and play them to her own advantage. Anne's narrative is
so vivid it invokes the sensory experience of the time period and
the unsavoury habits of those around her... Ellis writes so well
about that all-consuming infatuation we've all felt in first love.
It's not romanticized, but deeply physical and tied to a strident
rejection of Anne's circumstances... It's refreshing to read about
a character set in this time period that is in many ways
sympathetic, yet is also capable of horrifyingly monstrous acts.
The drama escalates throughout the novel making it an increasingly
gripping read as the story progresses... Janet Ellis has created a
fierce, memorable heroine and an inventive atmospheric story. It
has all the richness of Dickensian detail and the modern flair of
Sarah Waters. I also have to mention that the cover design and
colour of this book is exceptionally beautiful.
*Lonesome Reader*
A triumph; dark, shocking and funny. The voice is perfect and the
words glitter like little black jewels.
*Erin Kelly, bestselling author of THE POISON TREE*
Yes, it's that Janet Ellis, and this debut is attracting a lot of
attention, particularly as it sounds darker than many people would
have imagined a former Blue Peter presenter would have written... A
coming-of-age novel with a strong female lead... both violent and
bawdy.
*Novel Heights*
Terrific... Anne is no 18th-century milquetoast heroine in love.
Her savagely witty observations of those around her reveal a sharp
and cunning mind... Every word of it is really very good
*Bookseller*
In her first novel, Ellis weaves a darkly psychological tale set in
the rough-and-tumble, vulgar, colorful London of Moll Flanders and
Tom Jones. Evoking pity, abhorrence, admiration, and disgust, this
title is strongly recommended for readers with a love of Georgian
literature and Georgian London and those intrigued by the
complexity of the human psyche
*Library Journal*
In Anne Jaccob, Ellis has created a fascinating, feisty character
whose voice is certainly different from many heroines I have
encountered in the past... it is a dark, compelling tale of one
unforgettable woman and her quest for love and happiness. It is a
story filled with surprises, one that stayed with me long after the
final page. It is an impressive debut from Janet Ellis, and I hope
to read more of her writing in the future!
*The Owl on the Bookshelf*
I really enjoyed this debut offering from Janet Ellis... The story
is dark and quite surprising, beginning like a Regency Romance,
building into a bit of a bodice ripper becoming quirky and twisted
then ending with a rather shocking climax! The book completely
sucked me in and I was enthralled by the story and kept riffling
through the pages at a fair old pace. It's a hectic and
hair-raising tale, a coming of age story for adults. Read it, love
it, but don't be taken in by dear Anne who is like an aniseed ball,
hard and deceptive with any sweetness well tempered by the curious
bitterness of flavour and the darkness of licorice.
*BeadyJans Books*
Janet Ellis's compelling plot rests on Anne's formative sexuality
and constantly returns to differing conceptions of love and the
lenghts people go to in order to protect their status and
reputation. The unwillingness of anyone in the story to view Anne
as more emotionally complicated than a child leads her
self-discovery to run amok, and Ellis to explore the stifling
effects of such repressive views of sexuality. Ellis's use of vivid
imagery and focus on grisly detail add a macabre beauty to a
stirring story.
*Publishers Weekly*
a tale of wildness and desire
*Sydney Morning Herald*
This first novel captures the dark era and holds the reader in
suspense until the end
*Belfast Telegraph*
There is no doubt that in the hands of this talented author,
Georgian London comes gloriously alive; the fractured underbelly of
the lower classes teem with darkness and as this sinister edge
starts to infiltrate, before you know it, you are completely under
its spell.
*Jaffareadstoo*
The characters are excellently rendered, recognisable to the extent
that you might start casting actors for the TV adaptation...
There's a real feel for setting, too, not in the layering of detail
but in the impression of surroundings, in the atmosphere invoked
and most notably in the people that inhabit the pages, the
every-day hustle and bustle of grubby London life. Where this book
really shows strength is in when Janet Ellis chooses to reveal what
she does. The pace and the timing are perfect and I'll wager
there's more than one moment that'll cause your hand to rise to
cover the 'o' of your open mouth... Janet Ellis's The Butcher's
Hook is a complete package. The settings, characters, the pace and
the action are tightly controlled. There's some really nice dry
humour in there too, some genuinely funny moments. And the story is
likely to have you, well, hooked. It's amazing to think that this
is her debut. I loved it. I can't wait to see what comes next.
*Van is Reading*
Janet Ellis writes with a precision that is rare to find in a debut
author. She slices through the sixteenth century's idiosyncrasies
amid a turbulent period in British history, whilst soaking up the
richness of the era into a three hundred plus page novel. As a
reader, you dive into the past, willingly, without hesitation. Just
as in life, her characters are memorable, admirable and flawed.
And, just like in life, you never know exactly where the journey
may take you.
*Sukasa Reads*
This is a dark, twisted tale that is bleakly humorous. Well
written, it is an accomplished debut, and I look forward to seeing
what Ellis does next.
*Jo's Book Blog*
From the get-go Anne is smart, sarcastic, and an unforgettable
character. Her interactions with the world around her intrigue and
disgust in equal levels.
*Cantionis*
A thrilling and ambitious debut novel, The Butcher's Hook is a
spellbinding read... A stunning addition to the string of
female-led historical fiction that's prevailed in the last couple
of years, I can only only sit back and wait on tenterhooks to find
out what Janet Ellis will give us next.
*Food for Bookworms*
An accomplished debut novel with a mighty main character in Anna
Jaccob
*Reflections of a Reader*
The book completely sucked me in and I was enthralled by the story
and kept riffling through the pages at a fair old pace. It's a
hectic and hair raising tale, a coming of age story for adults.
Read it, love it
*BeadyJans Books*
I was incredibly impressed with Ellis' prose- beautiful in places
and shocking in others, she displays a real grasp of language and
knows the shocking power of a well-placed, incongruous smile or a
wicked thought
*Thoughts About Books*
Original and striking. This is a beautiful read full of sensuous
detail and wayward heroes. I loved it.
*Kate Hammer*
The Butcher's Hook is an accomplished, polished, excellent read.
The novel feels fresh, it is a terrific read and it will shock you.
Banish any preconceived ideas about historical novels; get reading
the story of Anne, her desires and passion in Georgian London.
*soreilly.com*
I was incredibly impressed with Ellis' prose- beautiful in places
and shocking in others, she displays a real grasp of language and
knows the shocking power of a well-placed, incongruous simile or a
wicked thought. A couple of times I had to re-read a line just to
check I'd seen the right thing...her intricate and complicated
characters are spellbinding and she has the readers eating out of
her hand-the way that the our opinions and perceptions are played
with and bent into and out of shape is brilliant. I loved how the
novel was able to surprise me and kept me guessing not only about
the plot but about the characters. Though I'd describe the novel as
sensational and slightly unlikely, it was an enjoyable, twisted
journey nonetheless, a gripping whirlwind of passion, debauchery
and moral vacancy which I'd thoroughly recommend.
*Mythoughtsaboutbooks*
This is a book of two halves. The first is a gritty portrayal of
the powerlessness of a young urban British adolescent in an age
without antibiotics, contraception, or healthcare. The narrative
seems to build an intriguing love story between two characters of
disparate social backgrounds. However, in the second part, Ellis
takes The Butcher's Hook into different territory. Anne's pressured
life breeds startling reactions. One overly-lurid murder follows
another. Anger and arson rage out of control. The body count
unrealistically soars. Anne is not who we think she is.
*stuff.co.nz*
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