Unfolding over five days leading up to 11 November, 1920, a powerful debut telling of three women who have lost loved-ones, set against the journey of the Unknown Soldier from Northern France to the Cenotaph.
ANNA HOPE was born in Manchester, and educated at Oxford University and RADA. The idea behind Wake came to her when she visited the Somme, where she was struck by the sight of so many rows of identical crosses, and wondered at the grief of the women they left behind. WAKE is her first novel. Follow her on Twitter @Anna_Hope
"A compelling and emotionally charged debut about the painful aftermath of war and the ways - small, brave or commonplace - that keep us going. It touches feelings we know, and settings - dance halls, war front, queues outside the grocer - that we don't. I loved it." -- Rachel Joyce, author of THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY "A tender and timely novel, full of compassion and quiet insight. The author gives us a moving and original glimpse into the haunted peace after the Great War, her characters drawn by the gravity of the unmarked, the unknown and perhaps, finally, the unhoped for." -- Chris Cleave, author of THE OTHER HAND "Wake is powerful and humane; a novel that charms and beguiles. Anna Hope's characters are so real; flawed and searching, and her prose so natural, one almost forgets how very great a story she is telling." -- Sadie Jones, author of THE OUTCAST "Superb ... beautifully crafted" * Irish Times * "A moving novel about the aftershock of the 1914-1918 conflict. ... unlikely many will prove better than Anna Hope's Wake" * Sunday Times * "Absorbing and timely" * Daily Mail * "Wise and insightful" * Sunday Express * "A hit, we think!" * Simon Mayo Bookclub * "Impressive and poignant ... moving and rewarding" * Woman and Home * "Poignant ... stays long in the memory" * Choice * "I wouldn't be surprised if this was the biggest hardback debut of the year" * Alexandra Hemingsley, Radio Two Arts Show * "This centenary year, so many more female writers have chosen The Great War as their central theme ...there is WAKE by Anna Hope, chronicling the lives of women battling with postwar loss ...I welcome these, and more, for their stories and the history lessons they incorporate" * Arifa Akbar, The Independent * "Poignant and powerful, it's a must-read." * Fabulous Magazine * "Anna Hope reveals a tragic connection between three women living i 1920s London in her impressive debut" * Good Housekeeping Magazine * "Hope weaves her three characters' workaday narratives together, building scenes that wear their research lightly ...The women's lives come at us in a present-tense narration that keeps the book easy to read, letting the characters' thoughts bob to the surface of the text in italics, as if in a nod towards the modernism that was brewing in that very period." * Independent * "A very simple book which elicits very complicated emotions ...luscious, impressive, moving." * Julia Kingsford * "It's an unusual story, told well and written delicately. The women and the world they inhabit are beautifully drawn. It tells us that life can continue to be lived even after terrible loss." -- RONAN BENNETT, Whitbread award-winning author and creator of Channel Four's `Top Boy' "Hope's unblinking prose is reminiscent of Vera Brittain's classic memoir "Testament of Youth" in its depiction of the social and emotional fallout, particularly on women, of the Great War." * New York Times * "Wake is a staggeringly good first novel, packed with soulful insight, universal emotions and those intimate small details which add more depth and meaning to a picture than the brutal sweep of a broad brush." * Lancashire Evening Post * "It's hard for me to believe that this amazing, touching book is a debut novel. Absolutely recommend and already on the run for a spot in my top 10." * www.thebooksmugglers.com * "It is a powerful read; you can almost see the endless mud of the trenches, and sense the fear of those young men." * pagesandteablog.wordpress.com * "Anna Hope wove her spell and managed to conjure up an intriguing tale, quite rich with emotion that held me entranced until the last page. I can't wait to see what she does next." * lynnsbooks.wordpress.com * "Wake is a brilliant debut novel, deeply moving, well-plotted and engrossing." * http://ourbookreviewsonline.blogspot.co.uk * "This is such a brilliant book; one that is both beautifully written and emotionally involving, with a fascinating plot and wonderful characters who pluck at your heartstrings on every page." * http://bookssnob.wordpress.com * "I have no doubt that Wake is going to be included in my Top Ten books of 2014, I know that it's only January, but this is a book that has had a huge effect on me." * randomthingsthroughmyletterbox.blogspot.co.uk * "The only regret I have is that I didn't read this book sooner. WAKE is luxury. Pure luxury." * http://missmoretalks.wordpress.com * "She manages to capture every single detail, every emotion and every sound." * http://lauraslittlebookblog.blogspot.co.uk * "Wake is that rare and beautiful thing: a first novel that sings with such power and grace that it lifts itself effortlessly from the pack. Powerful, passionate, compassionate, it marks the rising of a new star in the literary firmament. Anna Hope is here to stay." * M.C. Scott - Author of Rome and chair of the Historical Writers Association * "Intricately researched and beautifully written, with the kind of restrained yet emotional prose one expects from a seasoned author. Its characters, too, have a depth and quiet tragedy one rarely finds in debut fiction. In this centenary year commemorating the outbreak of war, there've been many novels about the conflict:Wake is without doubt one of the best." * Hannah Beckerman - Huffington Post * "A masterclass in historical fiction" * Observer *
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