English Correspondence

A superb piece of writing - elegant and subtle in a way you don't see very often these days. Janet Davey is a writer of tremendous presence whose remarkable ability to observe characters and their lives results in a truly enthralling story. It's difficult to believe this is a first novel

Joanne Harris

Striking first novel. Davey writes beautifully

Daily Telegraph

A book of such unobtrusive artistry and insight

The Times

To read this novel is to feel one's life improved, one's faith in the moral force of art secured. Davey's book will last, and carry retrospective weight with her ancestors among the best novelists, both English and French

Evening Standard

Delicate, subtle, entirely lacking in brashness-I purred over its sheer intelligence, its quiet wit

Margaret Forster