Penguin Michael Joseph to publish new series by Ellee Seymour

We’re thrilled to share that Penguin Michael Joseph has acquired a new series by Ellee Seymour, writing as Annie Seymour.

A heart-warming new WWII saga of friendship, bravery and scandal that sees a young woman swap a Welsh mining town for Buckingham Palace. 

As bombs rain down on London, the Palace gates open for a young royal maid…

The year is 1944, and in South Wales, seventeen-year-old pit miner’s daughter Rosa Edwards has just secured a coveted new position at Buckingham Palace.

Setting off for the big smoke with only a small suitcase to her name, she is determined to seize this unexpected opportunity while her sweetheart is away fighting in Europe. And it also brings her closer to the mystery of where Alice is, her best friend who moved to London and disappeared without trace.

But within Rosa’s first few weeks in post, a grave accusation leaves her position in peril. And when salacious rumours regarding Alice’s disappearance begin circulating, she must decide where her loyalties lie.

Is Rosa’s first duty to King and Country, or her best friend?

‘A heartwarming tale of true friendship!’ – Rosie Goodwin
‘A gripping and heart warming read set in the royal palace’ – Daisy Styles

Ellee Seymour is the author of The Shop Girls, a heart-warming memoir about shop girls’ lives in an elegant ladies department store between the 1940s-60s, and The Royal Station Master’s Daughtersseries, a WW1 trilogy set in Wolferton and Sandringham.

Secrets of the Royal Maid will be published 9 April 2026.