My Debut Novel, THE THREE

18th century London is a dangerous place for gay men, but Matthew Rooke hides in plain sight as a skilled corset-maker adored by high society. When he falls in love with the wealthy and generous Henry, he is hired as private dressmaker to Henry's wife, Elina, so they can continue their secret affair. If discovered, Matthew faces the noose.

The three live together in uneasy tension as Matthew learns Elina has secrets of her own. Slowly, he is drawn into her dangerous world of revolutionary politics.

When the truth about Matthew and Henry threatens to destroy their lives, Matthew is forced to make a devastating choice: who does he save? His lover or his friend?

United Kingdom

Available in hardback, eBook, and audiobook formats

United States

Available in eBook format, with paperback forthcoming in October 2026

France

Available in hardback, eBook, and audiobook formats. Consider ordering from your local English bookshop-- they should have it!

"Kelsey O'Brien writes with committment" - The Times

"From page one of The Three, I was utterly swept up by the exquisite writing and the intrigue" - The Debut Digest

"Kelsey O'Brien doesn't preach. Instead, she creates engaging characters and a credible, and very well portrayed, world for them to live in, and turns their fate into a rattling good story." - Promoting Crime Fiction

"This is a well-researched novel, which illuminates various different sides of Georgian London: that of fashionable and genteel women (and the work which went into making their underclothing); the debating societies of the 1790s in which radical ideas were discussed and shared; and the secretive world of homosexual men and the molly houses they frequented." - Historical Novel Society