Once Upon a River

Once Upon a River is one of the most pleasurable and satisfying new books I've read in a long time. Setterfield is a master storyteller, her language flowing with a dark magic very like the river at the heart of her tale: swift and entrancing, profound and beautiful. Give yourself a treat and read it!

Madeline Miller,Orange Prize-winning author of The Song of Achilles and Circe

This is magical, bewitching story telling – and so cleverly structured…it possesses all those narrative values I have always cherished…: high prose expressed with rare clarity, story for the unashamed sake of story, a kind of moral dreaminess.

Jim Crace, author of Man Booker shortlisted Harvest

Once Upon a River is a delight, just marvellous. I devoured it in gulps.

Jo Baker, bestselling author of Longbourn

I was completely spellbound by this book. Numerous strands of the same story are skilfully woven into a magical web from which I, as a reader, had no desire to escape. Setterfield’s prose is beautiful, dark and eerily atmospheric, and her rich cast of characters convincingly illustrate the best and worst of humanity. Utterly brilliant!

Ruth Hogan,bestselling author of The Keeper of Lost Things

Once Upon A River succeeds in doing what you hope every book will do - pull you in from the first page, hold you captive in the middle, then leave you satisfied and thoughtful at the end. I loved it.

Renee Knight, author of bestseller Disclaimer

Diane's masterful storytelling draws you in to a beguiling tale, full of twists and turns like the river at its heart, and just as rich and intriguing. It lures you into its depths and carries you along in its vividly evoked world.

M L Stedman, bestselling author of The Light Between Oceans