From the New York Times-bestselling author of A Crane Among Wolves comes a warm and romantic homage to Jane Austen set in historical Korea, about a reader and a writer who secretly fight against government book banning and find themselves irresistibly drawn together.

As the dutiful second daughter of a poor family, Haewon is expected to marry well. Instead, amid harsh censorship and rampant book bans, she secretly works as an illegal book transcriber - dangerous work she loves, especially when copying the writings of her favorite author, the elusive Black Lotus.

When her older sister begins courting a wealthy young man, Haewon is dragged along as chaperone - forced to endure the company of his arrogant, insufferable best friend.

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As the only son of a noble, Seojun is expected to embody wealth, status, and propriety. No one can know that he secretly writes fiction - or that the only thing keeping him going under pressure from his overbearing father are the warm, insightful letters from his transcriber, 'Magpie'.

But when his best friend falls for a girl far below their social rank, Seojun must join their chaperoned outings - alongside her sharp-tongued younger sister. Yet the more time Seojun and Haewon spend together, the more they realize how wrong their first impressions were . . .

READERS LOVE BEHIND FIVE WILLOWS:

'I genuinely think that this book will be my favourite read of the year'

'I was hooked from the beginning'

'I loved every second of this suspense and romance'

'June Hur has done it again, and I do not know what to do with my life after reading yet another masterpiece. I found myself flying through the pages, constantly wanting more. NEEDING more!'