One of my favourite authors writing about one of my favourite historical figures was always going to be a win for me, but Learned By Heart was utterly gorgeous and, in my opinion, Emma Donoghue's best book to date.
Adding to the already moving, richly told and gripping collection of historical fiction from Emma Donoghue, Learned By Heart is the breathtaking story of two young girls on the margins of life, forging a connection that will last forever.
'Emma Donoghue is a genius of compassion. In our fractured world she brings a great sense of repair to us all.' - Colum McCann, internationally bestselling author of Let the Great World Spin
Eliza and Lister have never been this wide-awake in their lives, and the Slope, with its curtains drawn wide, is bright with starlight. The question Eliza's been needing…
I came late to this one, but I'm so glad I got there in the end. Pip Williams's writing seems effortless, and her book takes you right to a particular place and time.
'An enchanting story about love, loss and the power of language' Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory
Sometimes you have to start with what's lost to truly find yourself...
Motherless and irrepressibly curious, Esme spends her childhood at her father's feet as he and his team gather words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary.
One day, she sees a slip of paper containing a forgotten word flutter to the floor unclaimed.
And so Esme begins to collect words for another dictionary in secret: The Dictionary of Lost Words. But to do so she must journey into a world…
It's a brilliant fusion of biofiction and creative non-fiction, melding the author's story with that of her great aunt. A haunting read that felt incredibly fresh and original to me.
Georgina Banks searches for the truth of what happened to her Great Aunt ‘ Bud’ , killed in the Second World War. Bangka Strait, Indonesia, 1942. Allied ships are evacuating thousands in flight from Singapore, the island having fallen to Japanese Imperial forces. Facing terrifying assaults by fighter planes, one ship, the Vyner Brooke, is badly bombed and sinks. Its survivors swim or paddle for hours to the nearest land, a beach on Bangka Island, parched, many dreadfully injured. One of the survivors is Australian Army nurse Dorothy ‘ Bud’ Elmes, the great-aunt of Georgina Banks. Bud makes it to…
House of Longing is a historical novel, set in 1890s Melbourne. The protagonist, Charlotte Ross, is unconventional for the time, in that she dreams of one day taking over the management of her father’s stationery store, instead of marrying and having children of her own. She is content with her quiet life, but then Flora Dalton walks through the shop door and Charlotte begins to dream of more than pens and books. But darker times await her, and she finds herself committed to Kew Lunatic Asylum, where she is forced to forge a new way forward, with the support and friendship of her fellow patients.
House of Longing is for fans of queer historical fiction and of narratives focusing on friendship and the importance of community.
