Granddaughter of author John le Carré, Jessica Cornwell is set for international stardom in her own right this year as her debut novel The Serpent Papers is released in ten countries.

The 28 year old's historical thriller, inspired by her time studying in Barcelona, is the first in a trilogy, snapped up in six figure deal by Quercus. Already optioned for film rights, the tale of a young female academic following the trail of a lost manuscript is being touted as the next Da Vinci Code. Trilingual Cornwell was raised in California by her screenwriter father and counts the novelist Nick Harkaway as an uncle. She says of her impressive literary pedigree 'Despite veering as far away from it as possible. I've ended up coming right back to my family roots'.