Mary Novik's Conceit is the story of Pegge, the daughter of the poet John Donne, a contemporary of Shakespeare. On his way up in Queen Elizabeth's court, Donne elopes with a young woman from a good family, destroying his career. His lament is famous: "John Donne. Ann Donne. Undone." Ann dies young, in her 12th childbirth, and Donne becomes the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London.

Once famed for writing erotic poems to women, Donne begins to arrange safe marriages for his five daughters. When Pegge's turn comes, she rebels, determined to taste passion for herself. In this novel, we experience Pegge's curiosity about her father's love-life and her struggle to get the key to her own sexuality out from underneath his pillow.

Published by Doubleday in 2007, Conceit was called “a magnificent novel of 17th-century London” by The Globe and Mail. It was chosen as a Book of the Year by both Quill & Quire and The Globe and Mail, and AbeBooks called it one of the Top Ten Hottest New Canadian Books for 2008. It was long-listed for the Giller and won the top prize for fiction in BC, the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.

Mary welcomes you to her website at www.marynovik.com As well as highlights from reviews, it features a blog, biography, book club materials, and photographs from events and book club visits. You can also read about the inspiration for Conceit, and share some interesting discoveries on the backgrounds page.

Photo of Mary by Nicholas Seiflow