The Beauty Case

THE BEAUTY CASE is a dark, elegant, genre-defying adult debut by Karen Ball, set in the glamorously debauched 1950s Hollywood. The rights were acquired by Viking in a 6-figure pre-empt and will be published in Summer 2024. You can read the Bookseller announcement here.

THE BEAUTY CASE follows Loretta, a quick-witted and plucky young woman who harbours a dubious past and is trying to succeed as a make-up artist in the misogyny-steeped world of 1950s Hollywood. It merges the escapism in the luxe debauchery of the Hollywood setting with a darker undercurrent of righteous justice.

A former Bookseller Rising Star with her publishing consultancy Speckled Pen, THE BEAUTY CASE is Ball’s debut adult novel having written more than 25 children’s books. She is represented by Katie Greenstreet at Paper Literary Agency.