July 2025 – The Low Road, Eye Books, available as an e-book and available in the autumn in paperback. Katharine will be speaking about The Low Road at the inaugural Ipswich Book Festival in October 2025.
REVIEWS FOR THE LOW ROAD:
“A well-crafted and intensely dramatic novel, with characters you care about facing circumstances so dire a contemporary audience might strain to fully imagine them.” —Â Sydney Morning Herald
Australian Women’s Weekly described it as “soft, swelling storytelling”.
Historical novelist Katherine Mezzacappa, for the Historical Novel Society, said:
“Quarmby gives a lyrical description of the Norfolk landscape, stained though by the suffering of destitute families sent to the workhouse, maimed men returning from Spain and the lingering fear of witches. Threshing machines are destroyed by men fearful of losing their livelihood; protesters are hanged.
The Low Road is a tough read, paradoxically, because of the empathy with which Quarmby tells her story; tougher, too, because it is based on true events. Hannah’s trajectory in life is almost inevitable. She accelerates it by pilfering, but the reasons for her thefts are pitifully human. Sent to a refuge in London, she meets Annie, who is to be the love of her life, but both of them end up in a nightmarish Newgate prison, leavened only by the presence of Elizabeth Fry. The ultimate destination for the two women, though separately, is transportation, to an Australia as lush in colour and birdsong as London was bleak.”
The Australian based Beauty and Lace magazine’s book club reviewed it, with Anne Steer saying:
“The descriptiveness of Hannah’s thoughts, her environments, the conditions, the women she meets, and the controlling men that impact her life, all make this story so credible and riveting. You feel as if you are there with her.
Her story is one of resilience and making the best of each situation. It is important that stories like Hannah’s are preserved. It is a very thought-provoking read.”
TripFiction‘s Tony Geary reviewed it, saying:
“An epic tale of life of early 19th Century life set in set in Norfolk, London, and New South Wales”
Marika Cobbold, novelist, said: “The Low Road is the haunting, beautifully told tale of a young woman’s struggle against the unforgiving institutions of her day; a struggle not just for survival, but for the right to live with dignity and the right to love and be loved. Young Hannah Tyrell’s story is as gripping as it’s moving and The Low Road is a book that will stay with me for a long time.”
The Tasmanian Times reviewed it, saying: “The Low Road is a beautifully written novel….The Low Road is a testament to Quarmby’s dedication to her craft and her commitment to delivering an immersive and captivating story.”
June 2023 – The Low Road (Unbound Publishing)Â
More review and endorsements below:
Novelist Frank Parker reviewed it for the Rosie Amber book blog:
“Overall, this is an excellent evocation of the lives of working class people, women especially, as endured in the early nineteenth century. Hannah’s progress from innocent child to motherhood contains enough twists, turns and setbacks to keep you reading long into the night or, as I did, so late on Saturday afternoon that I missed the start of Strictly! I give it five well-earned stars.”
Whispering Stories reviewed it, calling it: “Moving…a resolute tale of survival”.
https://www.whisperingstories.com/the-low-road-katharine-quarmby-book-review/
Katharine wrote for the literary magazine, Lit Hub, about the process of writing the book and raising friendly ghosts. She also wrote about recovering lost voices for Writing Magazine.
You can hear Katharine talking about the road to writing The Low Road in conversation with Lucinda Hawksley on the Goldster Book Club here (either as a podcast or on YouTube). She was in discussion with Talk Radio Europe’s Hannah Lopez in 2023 on her book show. She was in discussion with Lydia Syson at the Hackney Archives in 2023, talking about to work with archival records and discover hidden histories.
Novelist Maggie Gee said: “A darkly gripping picaresque tale of cruelty, courage and kindness as an orphaned girl survives poverty and injustice to seek love on the other side of the world.”
Novelist Jane Harris said: “Quarmby spins an absorbing, tender and brutal tale that encompasses a London refuge for the destitute, rural Norfolk, and Van Diemen’s Land in Australia. This is a novel about love, betrayal, destitution and redemption. A heart-rending story, impeccably researched, packed with rich and realistic detail, and reminiscent of the work of Charlotte Brontë and Sarah Waters.”
Novelist Lydia Syson wrote: “Quarmby unites sympathetic examination of a fragmentary historical record with imaginative reconstruction to give a voice to a girl who endured the gravest injustice and misfortune over two centuries ago. Ever evocative of time and place, The Low Road reads compellingly as an act of love and restitution.”
Romantic novelist Michelle Styles said: “Vibrant… Quarmby immerses the reader into the early nineteenth century with this page-turning tale of forbidden passion and a woman’s ultimate triumph over adversity. A traditional saga, harking back to the glory days of Catherine Cookson, but with a very modern twist which is sure to appeal to today’s reader. I look forward to reading more of her work”.
Book bloggers also kindly reviewed, with Silvia Reads describing The Low Road as “haunting” and saying: “I have recently been reading more historical fiction than ever before, and this is a great example of it. The sense of time and place seems to have achieved so effortlessly that it is sure to be the result of a meticulous work of research. The story of Hannah is one of hardships, but she shows a determination that I can’t but admire, and I will be thinking about her for some time to come.”
Natural Bri Books said: “Such a gripping and hauntingly beautiful tale. We are started, straightaway, with a grim beginning, leaving our main character as an orphan, who is then shipped away into the life of servitude. Not much left to make her life her own, she finds solace in make what little she can her own path, including friendships and love life. This develops and she become inseparable and develops a bond most can only strive toward with a friend or lover. Then things take a turn and life changes drastically. Reading along as all these changes and important moments unfold in her life was so intriguing. I was hooked from the start and couldn’t help but finish the book very swiftly. It is definitely a tale that pulls on heartstrings and opens your eyes to so many things, especially how both women and orphans were treated in those days. I found myself very engaged in the book and completed linked to finding out more about the characters and the story it is all linked with. Overall, a brilliant book and definitely a must read!”
Julie Boon said: “I read three quarters of this book in one day, I just could not put it down. I needed to find out what happened to Hannah and Annie! The book was very well researched by the author and as I have visited the area in Norfolk where it is based, I have heard a lot of stories of folklore and witches, so this interested me from page one.”
ElementaryMyDear called it a brilliant release and reviewed it, saying: “As much as the story is about hardship, Hannah’s tenacity and determination balance the dark side of this story. She’s a great perspective to read from, as we witness the world through her eyes. I particularly enjoyed seeing how her perception of others – and other people’s treatment of her – changed across the course of the book…Women’s sexuality is often written out of history, and this felt like a very honest portrayal of a woman following her heart in a world that has no words for it. This is a beautifully written triumph of a book, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. I hope we get more historical fiction from Quarmby, because the world is better for it.”
ABOUT THE LOW ROAD
The Low Road is set in rural England, London and Australia in the early nineteenth century. It is based on a true story I found whilst visiting my parents in the quiet Waveney Valley of a Norfolk woman, Mary Tyrell, who was staked through the heart after death in 1813. She had been questioned repeatedly about a suspected infanticide.
An older daughter, known only by the initials A.T., had survived. I traced her to the Refuge for the Destitute in Hackney. She had met another destitute, Anne Simpkins, there and they forged a friendship that deepened into love. In December 1821 they stole laundry from the Refuge, but were caught, stood trial at the Old Bailey, and were sentenced to transportation. They went first to the Millbank Penitentiary, survived marsh fever and were transferred to the prison hulks before being pardoned in 1824. They then went ‘on the town’ as prostitute. They both disappeared from the records – with just one last archive entry suggesting they were transported. The trail went cold so I decided to novelise their story but base it on a mosaic of the lives of men and women who were exiled in the largest forced migration in British history.
This novel is about uncovering lost histories: the stories of poor women from rural areas, the stories of the imprisoned, the stories of convicts sent to penal colonies, the stories of people who often left no records as a result of illiteracy and hardship. It also contains an important strand of narrative that explores experiences left out of the history books: a same-sex romance that evolves into a marriage of sorts two centuries before this was legally possible.
2024: Hachette Publishing (book for primary age children, celebrating disability rights
2024: Badger Publishing (six book series on bullying, aimed at children and young people at secondary school)
2024:Â
Reading Planet Cosmos – Game Changers: Disability Rights Campaigners (Hodder/Hachette)
Watch Katharine Quarmby read from this book, which features international disability rights campaigners, talking here about Baroness Jane Campbell:Â https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hWgDPRX9UY
Windows and Mirrors (six book series for Badger Learning)
This engaging and thought-provoking series is a must-have inclusive collection that offers a powerful opportunity to open conversations, challenge bias and prejudice, foster a sense of community, and build resilience. Set in an inner city school, each book looks at the experience of a student who is going through a difficult time. The books navigate the reader through hardships and signpost how to access, or offer, help. Although the books can be hard-hitting, the subjects examined are expertly and sensitively handled. The series is also suitable for dyslexic readers with a dyslexia-friendly font, extra spacing, and off-white paper.
2016:
Yokki and the Parno Gry, (Child’s Play International, with Richard O’Neill, 2016)
Ossiri and the Bala Mengro, (Child’s Play International, with Richard O’Neill, 2016)
Subject: two picture books from the English Traveller tradition, reviews on the book review page. Ossiri and the Bala Mengro was shortlisted for the 2016 Little Rebels Award.
A Country of Refuge (chapter), ed Lucy Popescu, (Unbound, 2016)
Subject: chapter about how my mother and grandmother came to the UK from war-time Yugoslavia, with the support of the Red Cross.
2015:
Hear My Cry (Hachette Poland, with Diana Kader, 2015)
Subject: my first ghost-writing book, on ‘honour’ based violence, co-written with survivor, Diana Kader.
2014:
The Priest, the Assassin and Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Kindle/Thistle Single, 2014)
Subject: semi-fictionalised account of my Serbian great-grandfather’s relationship with the assassin, Gavrilo Princip.
Romani Pilgrims: Europe’s New Moral Force (Newsweek Insights Publishing, via Kindle, 2014)
Subject: long-form reportage on the Romanies and Evangelical Christianity, with exclusive access to the communities.
2013:
Aftermath, (Kindle Single, 2013)
Subject: short fiction on the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide.
No Place to Call Home: Inside the Real Lives of Gypsies and Travellers (One World, 22nd August 2013).
Subject: inside account of the eviction of the settlement, Dale Farm, and the prejudice faced by Romanies, Roma and Travellers. More information here: http://www.oneworld-publications.com/books/no-place-to-call-home- 22nd August 2013 (One World Publications) Shortlisted for the 2013 Bread and Roses non-fiction award.
Blood and Water (Kindle Single, 2013)
Subject: an e-book about adoption and my own decades-long search for my Iranian birth father.
More information here by clicking this link.2012:
Disability, Hate Crime and Violence – An Edited Collection, (Routledge, 2012), “Language and the Media portrayal of Disability Hate Crime”, Katharine Quarmby), editors Alan Roulstone and Hannah Mason-Bish
Subject: analytical chapter using a contents analysis approach towards the media portrayal of disabled people in the UK.
2011:
Scapegoat: Why We are Failing Disabled People (Portobello Press, 2011)
Subject: the first British investigative book about disability hate crime, both in the UK and in the international arena. Winner of the 2011 Ability Media International Award.
2008:
Fussy Freya and the Fabulous Feast (Frances Lincoln, 2008)
Subject: picture book about fussy eating.
Katharine Quarmby 
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