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The Hand That First Held Mine

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The Hand That First Held Mine

By: Maggie O'Farrell
Narrated by: Karen Cass
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About this listen

An unforgettable novel of love and motherhood from best-selling author Maggie O'Farrell.

Winner of the 2010 Costa Novel Award and a Sunday Times best seller, The Hand that First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell is a gorgeously written story of love and motherhood from the author of This Must Be the Place.

When the sophisticated Innes Kent turns up on her doorstep, Lexie Sinclair realises she cannot wait any longer for her life to begin and leaves for London. There, at the heart of the 1950s Soho art scene, she carves out a new life. In the present day, Elina and Ted are reeling from the difficult birth of their first child. Elina struggles to reconcile the demands of motherhood with her sense of herself as an artist and Ted is disturbed by memories of his own childhood that don't tally with his parents' version of events. As Ted begins to search for answers, an extraordinary portrait of two women is revealed, separated by 50 years, but connected in ways that neither could ever have expected.

©2010 Maggie O'Farrell (P)2012 Headline Digital Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Inspiring Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking England

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Critic reviews

"O'Farrell has a remarkable ability to convey the texture of human emotion with precision. In The Hand That First Held Mine, she also demonstrates a masterful gift for storytelling." ( Observer)
"Like Daphne du Maurier before her, Maggie O'Farrell writes books designed to stir up the female subconscious and bring our most primal fears to the surface... this book will leave your stomach in knots." ( Daily Mail)
"The journey this novel invites us on is wonderful, involving time travel, heartache, elation, confusion, freedom, nostalgia and art." ( Scotland on Sunday)
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Narration was excellent. Very clever intertwining storyline with interesting characters. I’ve listened to several by this author and can highly recommend.

Beautifully constructed story

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An intriguing idea with believable characters. I shall now look for another of Maggie Farrel’s books.

Very enjoyable

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I loved this book, the second one by Maggie O Farrell that I have read. A wonderful depiction of motherhood that really resonated with me.

A beautifully written story, well told

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Another brilliant Maggie O’Farrell, her books are just brilliant, so well observed and excellently fleshed our characters- it was beautifully read too.

Great

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Beautiful story-telling, excellent narration. Not as compelling as I was expecting but a wonderful story of motherhood and loss.

Slow start but ultimately a moving story

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a story from two different eras, well told and held me until the end of the book

intriguing

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I so enjoyed this story. didn't see what was coming. cried at the end. simply wonderful writing and great narration.

a beautiful and really lovely story

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I didn’t love this novel immediately and particularly found the narrator a little jarring but i warmed to the characters, their stories started to weave together & it became far more engaging…really quite lovely all in all!

Slow burner but worth your time

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Such a beautiful written, gripping and emotive story. I didn't want to stop listening - wonderful characters and and unexpected storyline. I love Maggie O'Farrell's books - this is my favourite. Highly recommended.

Depth of characters, gripping storyline

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Maggie o’farrell you can do no wrong. Steadily working my way through your books and this has just left me as in awe of your writing as always. I know these people now and I’m going to miss them all. I can see the paintings. I want to watch little Jonah grow up. A beautifully crafted and elegant book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A beautiful book

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