The Bride Stone

the spellbinding new historical novel from the author of The Weather Woman

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The Bride Stone

By: Sally Gardner

Narrated by: Oliver Dimsdale

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An estate on the line. A marriage of convenience. A bride with a hidden past… Read the spellbinding new Regency novel from multi-award-winning author Sally Gardner.

AN ESTATE ON THE LINE.

1796. Duval Harlington, recently released from prison in France, is on his way home. Memories of the tranquil family estate kept his spirits high through his worst days in La Force, so it is no small sorrow to return and find Muchmore thrown into chaos. His despicable father, he learns, has died. And while he has left the estate to Duval, there is one small stipulation: he must be married, or else lose everything…

A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE.

With only two days and seven hours to find a wife, devoted bachelor Duval is prepared to walk away. But then he stumbles upon a wife sale.With women being bought and sold like chattels, Duval is horrified by what he sees. Until he lays eyes on one intriguing figure…

A BRIDE WITH A HIDDEN PAST.

Duval makes an extravagant bid, and he and Edmée are married with minutes to spare. But little does Duval know, this is only the beginning of his troubles. For Edmée is not who she says she is, and her secrets will soon threaten to dismantle everything he holds dear…©2025 Sally Gardner (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Sally GardnerOliver DimsdaleApollo

Historical

Historical Fiction

Regency

Historical Historical Fiction Regency

Critic reviews

A delicious romp of a novel. (Antonia Senior)

Historical fiction can be hit or miss, but this is a cracker ... What a treat this is: intelligent escapist fiction.

Infused with wit, imagination and maturity...just be warned. I stayed up very late to finish this book.

Beautifully written and propulsive. (Adele Parks)

Sally writes so brilliantly: there's an assured ease to every sentence and The Bride Stone has Sally's trademark elegant prose and confident unfurling of plot and character. I loved the love story at the heart of this novel, which starts so gently but becomes powerful enough to drive the breathless search and pursuit of the final parts of the book. I thought the mystery worked brilliantly too: by the final thrilling chapters, the reader is urgently willing Duval to find his wife, while eagerly trying to unravel the layers of secrets. Compelling, thrilling and beguiling! (Caroline Lea)

I adored The Bride Stone – Sally Gardner’s best novel yet, as if Angela Carter had written Georgette Heyer with a dash of A Tale of Two Cities. The playfulness with genre tropes and plotting is especially fun, and I loved the delicate eroticism, the French Revolution, and the way the novel captures how two people can heal each other of damage. (Amanda Craig)

This enticing work dives straight into a tale of mystery and marriage - a beautifully written but sobering depiction of a woman's tenuous place in the 18th century. A real page-turner. (Mandy Robotham)

Part storyteller, part magician – no one brings history to life like Sally Gardner. The Bride Stone is pure pleasure from start to finish. (Meg Rosoff)

Praise for Sally Gardner:

'The prize-winning Gardner is [a] dab hand at literary world-creation' Observer
'Rich, bold and original' Financial Times
'Full of life and colour... a delight' (Sunday Times)

CRITICS LOVE SALLY GARDNER:
'Seductive' Observer
'Wildly inventive' The TImes
'Superb... joyful' New Statesman
'A delight' The Sunday Times
'Beguiling' Mail on Sunday
'Magical storytelling' Heat
'A triumph!' Caroline Lea
'Bold and original' Financial Times
'I was completely captivated' Amanda Craig

READERS LOVE THE BRIDE STONE:
'Intriguing, enlightening and romantic'
'Such a page-turner... highly recommended'
'Vivid and tense... will stay with readers long after they finish'
'[I] hope the BBC immediately turns this into a period drama!'
'Secrets aplenty [with] a delightful twist!'
' I was drawn in from the start and remained captivated throughout'
'I was utterly captivated... I raced through this novel'

Most relevant

A romantic tale of love, loss and skullduggery. I think Sally Gardner is probably my favourite author; I lap every book and I’m always left wanting more. I love her characters and the tales woven around them and rarely do I guess entirely what will happen to them en route to an entirely satisfying end, she has not disappointed with this book. Her French Revolution tales are wonderful teaching me a little each time I read one.