This engaging historical fiction novel follows the friendship and lives of two women in the 17th century court of Jacobean England. Anne Turner is a seamstress who befriends Frances Howard, the Countess of Somerset, who she dresses her for an event at court. Over time, Anne comes to know Frankie and sees the bruises from the abuse Frankie suffers at the hands of her sadistic and impotent husband. Anne and Frankie grow closer as time goes on, including when Anne's husband dies and Frankie embarks on an affair with the King's consort, Sir Robert Carr.

All of the court machinations and the events are told through first-person narration by Anne. Jago spins an intriguing fiction around the true-to-life core of this story: In 1615, Anne was hanged for her role in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury (she provided the poison that was put in tarts supposedly fed to Overbury), the only man seemingly standing in the way of Frankie getting an annulment from her cruel husband and marrying her true love, Sir Robert Carr. When on the scaffold, Anne was forced to wear the extravagant starched cuffs that she was known for introducing into the court fashion scene. Frankie was convicted of being an accessory to the murder (working with Anne to hatch the poison plot), but ended up being pardoned in 1622.

Jago envisions a close friendship between the two women, explores the sexism and abuse they are subjected to as women living in the late 1600s, and questions the legitimacy of the murder conviction (did the poisons they concoct really kill Overbury or was Anne railroaded by a zealous and misogynistic Chief Justice?).

I really enjoyed Jago's spinning of this historical fiction tale. At times it's a bit uneven as the action slows when it's one court backstabbing after another and the lack of page time between Anne and her children prevent the reader from truly connecting with her on a strong emotional level. Yet the treatment the women face, even Frankie, as supposed high-class courtier, is devastating and does reverberate through Jago's gripping tale. If you love historical fiction and narratives that focus on the role of women in historical societies and the abuse/sexism they faced, this is the book for you.