Set in the 18th Century, Learned by Heart is the tragic love story of a teenage Anne Lister, the famous diarist, landowner, and lesbian, and Eliza Raine, the lonely orphan daughter of an Indian mother.
School friends initially, their relationship deepens, but it’s a time when such love couldn’t be spoken of, let alone engaged in. Utterly immersive, passionate, and heartbreaking, the novel wove a magical spell on me. Donoghue’s exquisite prose took me back to the 18th Century, in every minute detail, and I experienced all the joys and sorrows of growing up at a time when women were considered second-class citizens.
Like all good historical fiction, Learned by Heart reimagines history and brings it to life.
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…
The world of Renaissance Italy is brought to vivid life in this novel inspired by the short and tragic story of a real woman.
In 1550, Lucretia, a young duchess, is betrothed to a ruthless and powerful politician. Her one duty: to provide him with an heir. In a troubled court, Lucrezia faces unimaginable danger, and one false step could end her life. O’Farrell’s wonderful novel transported me back to a lost world of obscene riches and malevolent marriages, and I was willing Lucrezia to survive.
I could not put this book down, and all manner of duties were left undone until the final page was turned. Unforgettable and heartbreaking, this book will stay with me forever.
WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION FINALIST • REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • The author of award-winning Hamnet brings the world of Renaissance Italy to jewel-bright life in this unforgettable fictional portrait of the captivating young duchess Lucrezia de' Medici as she makes her way in a troubled court.
“I could not stop reading this incredible true story.” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Pick)
"O’Farrell pulls out little threads of historical detail to weave this story of a precocious girl sensitive to the contradictions of her station...You may know the history, and you may think you…
In Memoriam ripped my heart out (in a good way) and then put it back again...
Set in 1914, the story opens as the First World War begins. Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood are friends at boarding school, leading privileged and sheltered lives. When Gaunt enlists and heads off to the trenches, Ellwood has no choice but to follow his heart.
This tale of devastating tragedy and forbidden love was so realistic, raw, and beautiful, it made me sob. In Memoriam is a beautiful, poignant, devastating love story. But the depiction of life as a soldier in the trenches drew me so much deeper into the horror, the terror, the dreadful waste of life in war. It is a book that broke my heart, several times over, and then mended it again.
Operation Moonlight is a dual-timeline historical novel, inspired by the brave female secret agents of the Second World War. 1944: Newly-trained SOE secret agent Elisabeth is faced with an impossible mission – to parachute into Nazi-occupied France and send back information on the Germans’ deadly long-range missiles. Her only advice: trust no one.
2018: Betty is about to turn 100. When she receives an invitation from the local Century Society to meet other centenarians and reminisce, she remains mysteriously tight-lipped about her past. But when her carer, Tali, discovers a suitcase in Betty’s cellar containing letters and a gun, Betty’s secrets refuse to stay hidden any longer.
