Beetlebrow the Thief

A remarkable, gritty fantasy adventure featuring two strong young women who learn to make their own rules in a world dominated by men

Two sixteen-year-old girls are struggling to survive in the poverty-stricken streets of Stellingkorr. Beetlebrow – devastated by the death of her mother – meets Pook – newly escaped from her drunken parents.

The two girls scale the walls of the royal palace in search of work. King Ancissus – impressed with their ingenuity and skill – tasks them with delivering a cryptic message to the distant eastern city of Dalcratty. Success could save Stellingkorr; failure could mean starvation for its people.

Beetlebrow and Pook are forced to lie, fight and steal to keep heading east. Through the violence and squalor of towns and arid plains, army camps and prisons, they have only each other to depend upon.

'Beetlebrow', the first book of 'The Beetlebrow Trilogy', is the gritty debut novel from Ben Parker. In this epic coming-of-age fantasy, two bold and fearless young women find a love they could never have imagined.

About the author

Ben Parker was born and grew up in Ealing. He studied English Literature at Southampton University, writing mainly about queer theory and feminism. He now lives in Whitstable.