2016 novel by Sally Gardner
An Almond for a Parrot was published in 2016 by English author Sally Gardner (who writes children’s fiction) under the pseudonym Wray Delaney, this is an adult novel set in London in 1756, and has been described as an erotic fairytale. It takes its title from a tract by Elizabethan writer Thomas Nashe. 
As remarked in "The Guardian", "Historians estimate that one in five women worked as prostitutes in 18th‑century London. Delaney takes care 
to outline the abuse, assault, disease and abandonment that are also often the courtesan’s lot."
Dedication.
'For my mother, Nina Lowry.'
Fleet Marriages.
An explanation of the Fleet Marriages is highlighted in the foreword, where customs are observed in the Fleet Prison. A marriage ceremony is performed by 'disreputable and dissolute' clergymen (mostly in prisoners for debt) in eliciting a fee for the service without 'questions asked or stipulations made'. Such a marriage is part of the key to the novel itself.
Plot.
Initially set in Newgate Prison, pregnant Tully Truegood is charged with murder where she looks back on her life with her various incarnations as an orphan, whore and possibly murderer. Tully is able to see ghosts and more troubling is her ability for others to see them. Much of the story is set in a high-class brothel where Tully is groomed to be a successful courtesan.
References.
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