The Lost Queen finds home at Atlantic

Atlantic Books has acquired UK & Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) to Dr Sophie Shorland’s THE LOST QUEEN: The Surprising Life of Catherine of Braganza, Britain’s Forgotten Monarch from Charlotte Seymour at Johnson & Alcock, in a two-book deal.

Acquired by former Atlantic Non-Fiction Editorial Director James Nightingale, The Lost Queen will be published in hardback and ebook on 6^th June 2024.

Dr Sophie Shorland is a former Research Fellow at the University of Warwick, with a PhD focused on celebrity in Renaissance England. She works as an editor and filmmaker in London. The proposal for this biography was shortlisted for the Tony Lothian Prize in 2020.

Despite Catherine of Braganza’s crucial place in British history, and that of its Empire, she has since been overshadowed by stories of the king’s many mistresses and forgotten as Charles’ boring, powerless wife. This could not be further from the truth. In an absorbing narrative, historian Sophie Shorland not only tells the full story of this long-overlooked figure and her difficult relationship with Charles II, but also reveals how Catherine changed the country in ways both large and small: from popularising trousers for women, tea, Baroque art and music, to bringing Britain’s first territory on the Indian subcontinent, Bombay, into the Empire as a part of her dowry.

Dr Shorland says,

‘Catherine joins a cast of women very much forgotten by history. Queen twice over, I’m thrilled to help give this trouser-wearing politician the second look she deserves.’

Erika Koljonen, editor, says,

‘I was swept away by Sophie’s colourful, vibrant portray of Catherine of Braganza, and of the era. She brings so much life to a broad cast of characters, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be publishing this exciting and revelatory biography.’