The Girl in the Locket

1581: Abducted from her home by English sailors, a young West African girl is brought to Queen Elizabeth I as a gift. Johana Blackmore’s life at the Tudor court is bitterly lonely – until she forms a secret and perilous friendship with a famous artist.

2008: Hapless museum intern Finn Daley thinks his luck has finally changed when he discovers Johana’s lost portrait in a locket. Determined to carve out a space for himself in the elitist art world, and keen to learn more about the mysterious girl, he turns detective. But is the painting all it seems? And what is he prepared to sacrifice to find out?

As Finn races for the truth, crossing five centuries and two continents, and exposing the painful legacies of Britain’s colonial past, he starts to realise that everything he loves is at stake.

With themes of class, ambition and freedom, and echoes of A.S. Byatt’s Possession, The Girl in the Locket is an art history detective novel and a love story that will keep you turning the pages to its dramatic conclusion.

Joanne is at work on an exciting project to create the Tudor miniature at the heart of The Girl in the Locket. In collaboration with Curtis Holder (winner of Portrait Artist of the Year UK, 2020) and Alan Derbyshire (the V&A’s former chief conservator of paintings), she is exploring the world of squirrel-hair brushes, paints mixed in seashells, and tiny rubies made of hot red resin. In 2025 a documentary film will be released, and an exhibition about the project will go on tour. A huge thank you to the V&A and the Arts Council for their support!