Translated from the Dutch by David Colmer

‘I sometimes think of the constables and my betrayal. I have never spoken about it to anyone. I have cloaked my sin in silence. It has been hard enough for me to write about it...although I realise full well that I was nothing but a link in a chain.’

When Anna’s family home is destroyed in a fire, she is forced to become a maid for music publisher De Malapert. Intrigued by her employer, she spends her free time conjuring up ways to impress him.

De Malapert remains unaware of her attentions. Working in the shop by day, and transcribing opera scores by night, his only distraction is afforded by the occasional visit from his friend Everard Borgholt.

As Anna’s obsession deepens, however, she begins to eavesdrop on these late night soirees, and learns more about her mysterious employer than is safe for any of them.

Unwittingly, she contributes to the downfall of both the ‘only man she could imagine giving herself to’ and herself.

Anja Sicking’s first novel, Het Keuriskwartet, was awarded the Dutch Gerrjan Lubberhuizen Prize for best debut in 2001. She lives in Amsterdam.

About Anja Sicking

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Format: Original Paperback
ISBN: 0-7145-3125-1
160 pp
Fiction
Publication: October 2006

Price: £7.99