In Her Defence

IN HER DEFENCE follows the libel trial of TV personality, household name and ceramics entrepreneur, Anna Finbow, whose daughter Mary has cut off all contact with the family. After Anna accuses her daughter’s therapist of being behind the split in her newspaper column, the publicity is overwhelming, and a legal summons swiftly follows.

Mary is adamant that her childhood was abusive, whereas Anna believes the therapist is a charlatan preying on her daughter’s trust fund. Watching it all is young sculptor Augusta (Gus), Anna’s dogwalker – who has her own reasons for inveigling her way into Anna’s life…

Moving between Stoke on Trent and Rome, this is a beautifully written, page-turning novel about identity, love, and obsession.

Philippa Malicka was born in Essex and lives in London after a stint in India working in publishing. She studied English at Oxford University and went on to complete the Prose Fiction MA at the University of East Anglia. The novel was longlisted for the Bridport First Novel Award. Her non-fiction has appeared in The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph and Grazia. Philippa is represented by Juliet Mushens at Mushens Entertainment.