Tregians Ground

The significance of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book to our musical canon is well known; the remarkable story of its copyist and compiler, Francis Tregian, less so. Born into Cornish Catholic nobility and plumb into the choppy waters of the Elizabethan Age, he must rely on his surpassing skill as a musician to survive.

In this Prix des Libraires (Booksellers Prize) winning novel, Anne Cuneo deftly recreates the musician's journey across Renaissance Europe, which sees him befriending Shakespeare, swapping scores with William Byrd and Monteverdi, and playing in the court of Henri IV of France.

The result is as gripping as it is authentic: an epic, transcontinental choreography in which Europe's monarchs tussle with pretenders to their thrones, and ordinary people steer between allegiances to God, nation, and family.

Anne Cuneo was born in Paris to Italian parents, and raised in Switzerland and in England. She is a writer, filmmaker and journalist, and holds a degree in literature from the University of Lausanne. Her career spans four decades and fifteen novels, as well as dozens of plays and scripts for theater, TV and radio.

Originally published in French as Le trajet d’une rivière, Tregian’s Ground was awarded the prestigious Prix des Libraires, which celebrates the best novel published in the Francophone world each year. It has sold over 120,000 copies across Europe.

Roland Glasser studied theater and art history in the UK and France, and has published over twenty translations from French (art, travel and trade non-fiction). He co-manages the Emerging Translators Network, and serves on the committee of the UK Translators Association. He lived in Paris for over a decade, and is currently based in London.

Louise Rogers Lalaurie translates literary and genre fiction from French, including traveller and psychogeographer Jean Rolin, and novelists Antoine Laurain and Gabrielle Wittkop. She is the winner of three French Voices awards. Her translation of Olivier Truc’s crime début Forty Days Without Shadow was shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger in 2014. She has lived in France since 1991, dividing her time between Toulouse and the Seine valley south of Paris.