How It Was
On sale
2nd April 2020
Price: £8.99
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Paperback / ISBN-13: 9781473625211
AS FEATURED ON EMMA KENNEDY’S BOOKSHELF
‘IMMERSIVE, AMAZING, REMARKABLE’ MARIAN KEYES
‘JANET ELLIS WRITES WITH TENDERNESS AND WISDOM’ ERIN KELLY
‘AN ATMOSPHERIC, CLEVER NOVEL THAT WILL GET UNDER YOUR SKIN’ RED
Marion Deacon sits by the hospital bed of her dying husband, Michael. Outwardly she is, as she says, an unremarkable old woman. She has long concealed her history – and her feelings – from the casual observer. But as she sits by Michael’s bed, she’s haunted by memories from almost forty years ago . . .
Marion Deacon is a wife and mother, and not particularly good at being either. It’s the 1970s and in her small village the Swinging 60s, the wave of feminism, the prospect of an exciting life, have all swerved past her. Reading her teenage daughter’s diary, it seems that Sarah is on the threshold of getting everything her mother Marion was denied, and Marion cannot bear it – what she does next has terrible and heart-breaking consequences for the whole family.
Janet Ellis writes of the exquisite pain of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the complexity of family and a mother-daughter relationship that is as memorable as it is utterly believable.
‘ELLIS WRITES BEAUTIFULLY’ DAILY MAIL
‘AN EMOTIONAL EPIC’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
‘AFFECTING, ENGAGING AND READABLE’ OBSERVER
‘A TALE OF SILENCES, SECRETS AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS’ MAIL ON SUNDAY
‘ENGROSSING’ MIRROR
‘IMMERSIVE, AMAZING, REMARKABLE’ MARIAN KEYES
‘JANET ELLIS WRITES WITH TENDERNESS AND WISDOM’ ERIN KELLY
‘AN ATMOSPHERIC, CLEVER NOVEL THAT WILL GET UNDER YOUR SKIN’ RED
Marion Deacon sits by the hospital bed of her dying husband, Michael. Outwardly she is, as she says, an unremarkable old woman. She has long concealed her history – and her feelings – from the casual observer. But as she sits by Michael’s bed, she’s haunted by memories from almost forty years ago . . .
Marion Deacon is a wife and mother, and not particularly good at being either. It’s the 1970s and in her small village the Swinging 60s, the wave of feminism, the prospect of an exciting life, have all swerved past her. Reading her teenage daughter’s diary, it seems that Sarah is on the threshold of getting everything her mother Marion was denied, and Marion cannot bear it – what she does next has terrible and heart-breaking consequences for the whole family.
Janet Ellis writes of the exquisite pain of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the complexity of family and a mother-daughter relationship that is as memorable as it is utterly believable.
‘ELLIS WRITES BEAUTIFULLY’ DAILY MAIL
‘AN EMOTIONAL EPIC’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
‘AFFECTING, ENGAGING AND READABLE’ OBSERVER
‘A TALE OF SILENCES, SECRETS AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS’ MAIL ON SUNDAY
‘ENGROSSING’ MIRROR
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Reviews
Janet Ellis writes with tenderness and wisdom about how you can lose a child while they are still under your roof - and how a child long-lost will never leave you. I veered between laughter and a lump in the throat, often on the same page. This book will sneak up behind you and break your heart.
It's wonderful. A brutal tale of a fraught mother-daughter relationship. The writing fizzes along. Loved it.
Explores the human condition with pin-sharp precision, so accurate it hurts. It's a raw read, complex and compelling in its structure, with emotions laid bare. Written with empathy and integrity.
Wonderfully evocative, immersive and beautifully written
I absolutely loved it. The careful evocation of an era is incredibly seductive . . . These are real, believable, fragile people whose lives the reader becomes totally immersed in and gripped by.
You will love this - immersive, amazing, remarkable, I could barely breathe. I cried - and I never cry.
Cataclysmic
An atmospheric, clever novel, which will get under your skin
Ellis writes beautifully, with a great eye for detail. She has a wry comic touch and all the emotions are spot on.
Poignant, cleverly nuanced and funny
Heartbreaking - I would definitely recommend. It's going to be a very popular summer read.
An emotional epic. The former TV presenter's debut novel, The Butcher's Hook, was great, and this second one is also terrific, particularly in the way she writes about mother-daughter relationships.
A brilliantly written, dark domestic noir
I ate this up in one day . . . it has such great characters and very realistic, imperfect relationships. A thoroughly immersive story that I would heartily recommend.
A tale of silences, secrets and misunderstandings, of marital infidelities and of paths not taken . . . A fluent, convincing depiction of the poignant intricacies of family life
Ellis has a knack for depicting the way in which families struggle to communicate . . . engaging and readable
An emotional read with humour and heartbreak in equal measure
An engrossing read . . . a story of family secrets and twisted relationships
Lolita meets Madame Bovary . . . Ellis writes fantastically
Gripping . . . an engrossing read from a talented writer
It's equally as compelling as her first. I can't put it down!