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· 629 ratings · 97 reviews

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Movies have ratings. TV shows have ratings. Music and video games are even rated sometimes. All for the shocking purpose of warning consumers away from things they are likely to find offensive.

If only books had a similar rating system. It might go like this:

S -- Smutty
F -- Frequently Foul Language
Po -- Poorly Written
I -- Incredibly bad or nonexistent plot
Pr -- Pretentious use of Austen-era dialogue that totally misses the mark
B -- Badly conceived, badly delivered
E -- Emotionless, while trying to

Movies have ratings. TV shows have ratings. Music and video games are even rated sometimes. All for the shocking purpose of warning consumers away from things they are likely to find offensive.

If only books had a similar rating system. It might go like this:

I could go on. But I've been trying to stifle my sarcastic streak. Ahem. If such a rating system existed, The Mathematics of Love by Emma Darwin would be plastered with all of the above warnings. I picked it up on a whim because I wanted a new book to read and I happened to be standing in a bookstore. Makes sense to buy a book, no?

The one I wanted to buy (Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith) was sold out. Perhaps I should have made the connection between a very popular and well-written book being sold out... and a table full of unwanted books that they were trying to con people into buying. Sucker. I fell for it. It looked promising so I bought it. Never again!

This book was so boring at most points that I had trouble keeping my brain focused enough to follow the slowly plodding plot. I found myself distracted by Dora the Explorer--Dora for pete's sake! If that's not sad, I don't know what is.

I almost didn't post the title on this blog, lest somebody get curious and actually buy it themselves. Then they would come to ME complaining about my reading habits. This book had no redeeming qualities that I can remember. It used controversy to shock--by which I mean, they threw in all sorts of plot elements that added nothing to the plot but were very modern and and edgy. It included a love triangle between an old man, his live-in-bisexual-partner-for-life and a 16-year-old girl. I think I'm gonna go vomit.

It included verbal abuse. Emotional abuse. Physical abuse. Sexual abuse. It had romantic encounters so thoroughly portrayed that I blushed as I tried to skim past them. Complete smut.

I can put up with edgy elements to a story if they are put in the proper light and show the true duality of human nature. I can handle the fact that this world ain't always pretty. But this was just cheap entertainment of the worst kind. It is an insult to Jane Austen that the author read Emma to try to get a feel for the dialogue of the day. The dialogue sounded forced and out of place.

I could go on, mostly because I need to expel the nastiness of reading this book from my mind. But for now I'll summarize by saying this is the first book I can remember actually throwing in the garbage can.

Grade :: F

My apologies to Emma Darwin, great-granddaughter of the Famous Darwin. If you're reading this, you have every right to mutter, "Bloody American! What does she know!"

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I 'discovered' this book by accident, while browsing the author tables at the Historical Novel Society conference in London. I was intrigued by the blurb; I have an instinctive interest in debut novels, even though this one has been out for several years, and my work-in-progress is also set in two time periods. Enough hooks there for me to buy a copy, and it proved to be an intelligent, beautifully written book that kept me reading late into the night. I found myself re-reading some passages pur I 'discovered' this book by accident, while browsing the author tables at the Historical Novel Society conference in London. I was intrigued by the blurb; I have an instinctive interest in debut novels, even though this one has been out for several years, and my work-in-progress is also set in two time periods. Enough hooks there for me to buy a copy, and it proved to be an intelligent, beautifully written book that kept me reading late into the night. I found myself re-reading some passages purely to appreciate the prose.

Both main characters are finely drawn. The book opens in 1819 as the Peterloo massacre is witnessed by a crippled officer, a survivor of the Napoleonic wars. The story of his wartime traumas, and of his lost and secret love, is interwoven with the story of a rebellious, teenage girl in 1976. She has been parked with an uncle in the crumbling mansion that was once the officer's home. Both characters are written in the first person, a technically challenging approach that works well in this book. Ms Darwin has also managed to write very convincingly from a male as well as female point of view.

There are one or two minor implausibilities that somehow added to my enjoyment of the book. The officer is much more explicit in his memoirs than, I suspect, any Regency gentleman would be, even in private, and the 1976 teenager is wonderfully articulate for a girl of her background. The character of Lucy is probably more fiercely independent and liberal than any Regency lady would be allowed to be, given the restrictions of that era, but her character is delightful for those traits and by the end of the book I was perhaps a little in love with her myself.

However, some of the interactions in the 20th century sections would today be given the label of 'abuse', even though they are written with immense tenderness through the eyes of a willing 'victim'. That conflict was the only discomfort that remained as I finished a thoroughly satisfying read.

I shall certainly look out for more of Emma Darwin's work.

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Throughout this book are two parallel stories, one of which takes place in 1819, and one in 1976. Each chapter tells a bit of the story of Stephen Fairhurst, a British soldier who faught against Napoleon Bonaparte. Stephen has not had much love in his life, and he embarks on an unlikely friendship by correspondence with an intelligent, unconventional young woman. Next, each chapter has some of the story of Anna Jocelyn Ware, a fifteen year old British girl, who is visiting the house that belonge Throughout this book are two parallel stories, one of which takes place in 1819, and one in 1976. Each chapter tells a bit of the story of Stephen Fairhurst, a British soldier who faught against Napoleon Bonaparte. Stephen has not had much love in his life, and he embarks on an unlikely friendship by correspondence with an intelligent, unconventional young woman. Next, each chapter has some of the story of Anna Jocelyn Ware, a fifteen year old British girl, who is visiting the house that belonged to Stephen Fairhust during his lifetime. I found the book a bit slow to grab my attention in the beginning, but as it progressed, I enjoyed the story of Stephen Fairhust. It is only his story that caused me to give the book four stars. I did not enjoy the story of Anna Ware. Anna's life with her mother, who has left her for a time with family she doesn't even know, sounds like it has been mostly dismal. As Anna comes to slightly know her uncle and grandmother, it is clear that they have many serious problems and are not equipped to take care of themselves, much less Anna. It is no wonder with the lack of people who show any care for Anna that she becomes intimately involved with a man who is old enough to at least be her father. The only parts of Anna's story that I enjoyed were her interest in some letters that Stephen Fairhurst wrote, and her compassion for a six year old boy named Cecil. I felt that Anna's story was left without resolving anything. Overall the book was interesting, but I came to dread the pages in each chapter about Anna. ...more

Sep 24, 2008 Darci rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: people who enjoy bad books

I was commenting before on how un-critical I feel since I've not put any negative reviews on this site. Good thing I read this piece of work, because all that changes now.
And what a piece of work it is.
The story of this novel is about a teenage British girl who for some reason has a mother who doesn't want her around for the summer, as she is off on a romp with her current boyfriend. Said teenager is then shipped off to stay with an uncle on an old English estate. She's met this uncle only once I was commenting before on how un-critical I feel since I've not put any negative reviews on this site. Good thing I read this piece of work, because all that changes now.
And what a piece of work it is.
The story of this novel is about a teenage British girl who for some reason has a mother who doesn't want her around for the summer, as she is off on a romp with her current boyfriend. Said teenager is then shipped off to stay with an uncle on an old English estate. She's met this uncle only once when she was a toddler, and her doddering grandmother who was not supposed to be there, appears on the scene as wel. She is given some old letters from the original owner of the estate and his story is told simultaneously. Interesting premise with a lot of potential.
I'll give you an idea as to what I hated the most. If those things don't bother you then perhaps you should try this novel out.
Firstly, it's silly in its predictability. You know from the first introduction of two certain people that they will eventually get together, even though one of the people is absolutely pining for someone else until just about the second-to-last page of the novel. But, since that doesn't work out, he realizes that all along he's been longing for the woman in the #2 slot. Secondly, Darwin writes STUPID love scenes. I have no other word for it. I'm not such a puritan that I can't take a little love in my novels, but the gratutitous sex scenes felt like they'd been inserted wherever the cursor was blinking when the author went back to do a revision. With phrases like, "My love was burning as his hands brushed my arm when he walked by," I kept checking to see if Fabio had magically appeared on the cover. Not to mention that these horrid phrases seem to pop up in the middle of a description of how one would develop film. Thirdly, I was astounded at the main characters' ability to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about an abused child in the house while simultaneously lusting about for a man as old as her grandpa. It seemed like another direction that the novel could have gone in, but since the author clearly didn't have it in mind to go there, she shouldn't have introduced this poor boy at all. It was icky to read of his bruises and her verbally abusing him, only to have no resolution or follow-up with him. Fourth-ly, it made me want to smack my head against the wall, because I was just sure that this novel would turn itself around and somehow be a good read. That made me not like it even more. In short, it was poorly written, poorly executed and in poor taste.
If you are taken in by the title (which makes no sense to me), the cover (which is a lovely photo, I must admit, but also makes no sense with relation to the story line), or simply feel like wasting your time by reading an awful book, then this is for you. I'm just so glad I checked it out from the library and didn't waste a dime of my hard-earned cash on it.
That's all. ...more

Fab. I'll have to go back over my list of books but this is a leading contender for my best read of 2007 (not that I ever get around to the award ceremony). As with many of the best reads it was a book I wasn't at all sure I'd like when I pulled it off the library shelf.

Historical story of a Waterloo veteran muddled up with a present day (well 1976, does that count as historical yet?) story of a teenage girl. The paired stories fought for my attention and at the joins between them I was torn between wanting to keep on reading the half of the tale I was in and needing to find out what was happening in the other half. Extremely well written, I look forward to more books from Darwin, this is her first.

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Dec 15, 2009 Sandra rated it really liked it

I loved this book and can't understand the negative reviews. Ms. Darwin is enormously talented and this book is masterfully crafted and true literature. I thought the characters were very sympathetic and their dilemmas believable. The sex was gritty and honest (who are these people?)and the love stories very poignant. Perhaps people were mis-led by the title and expected some sappy romance or morality tale? I loved this book and can't understand the negative reviews. Ms. Darwin is enormously talented and this book is masterfully crafted and true literature. I thought the characters were very sympathetic and their dilemmas believable. The sex was gritty and honest (who are these people?)and the love stories very poignant. Perhaps people were mis-led by the title and expected some sappy romance or morality tale? ...more

Dec 29, 2011 Cat's Review rated it did not like it

I have to admit that I picked this book up because the author was related to Charles Darwin. That being said, I really wasn't very impressed with this novel.

I found the relationship between Anna and Theo to be quite disgusting. A young girl and a man (that was old enough be her grandfather) sharing a sexual relationship didn't even need to be in the story. I thought it seemed to be in there for the shock value. To make matters worse, Anna was friends with Eva (Theo's romantic partner). What a g

I have to admit that I picked this book up because the author was related to Charles Darwin. That being said, I really wasn't very impressed with this novel.

The story also bored me whenever the author wrote about Anna (unless the author chose to disgust me instead). I only found Stephen's story to be more interesting and I liked him better than Anna.

I honestly wasn't very impressed with most of the characters and none of them really stood out as memorable. I did, however, enjoy the information about early picture taking to be fascinating and liked how photography was woven throughout both stories.

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May 22, 2009 Celia rated it really liked it

I was kind of surprised by the varied reviews of this book on Goodreads - I guess you either love or hate it.

The book is two interwoven stories - Anna, in 70s England staying with her uncle at his country house, Kersey Hall, and Stephen, a Waterloo veteran who inherits Kersay Hall after the war. Anna, a precocious teenager lonely in the empty hall seeks the company of Theo & Eva, photographers who begin to teach her about cameras. Stephen corresponds with Lucy Derwood, an artist, and a close fri

I was kind of surprised by the varied reviews of this book on Goodreads - I guess you either love or hate it.

It's a lovely lush story and great to listen to, especially Stephen's correspondence with Lucy. I loved Anna learning about photography and playing with light, but I was kind of ambivalent about where Anna's relationship with Theo went - and I wasn't sure that it resolved enough for me to be happy with it.

I picked up the book because of Emma Darwin's fantastic blog on writing, and I'll definitely be looking for her next novel.

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After reading a novel about Darwin (The Darwin Conspiracy), I moved on to a novel written by a descendant of Darwin -- again a novel moving between two characters living in different times, and again one where discovered correspondence plays a prominent role.

Half the book centers in 1815, following an injured veteran of the Battle of Waterloo, Stephen Fairhurst, who lost his love and his leg. Returning to England where he has inherited property, he begins corresponding with a woman/artist. The other half follows a 15-year old girl, Anna, in the summer of 1976 who has been sent to live with her uncle - in the same property. Anna befriends two photographers living nearby, and happens upon Stephen Fairhurst's letters.

I enjoyed this novel. I thought the author did an excellent job moving stylistically between two writing styles. Both stories captured me; I hated to leave either character when the narrative changed. I would recommend it to friends.

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Sep 04, 2007 Lisa rated it liked it

The two voices in this book are very distinctive and makes it a very interesting read. As many reviews from the press indicated, the way she describes art and photography in this book is amazing. I am still not sure how I feel about the ending. The resolution is more suggested than clear and I love/hate this!

Sep 03, 2008 Karen rated it really liked it

This was a cool book with two storylines, 1819 and 1976. The stories take place in the same house and have common themes, although they are not otherwise connected. It was a little slow to get going, but the writing is lovely, the characters are interesting, and I liked that it was more thematic than plot-based.

Mar 12, 2009 Dawn rated it did not like it

I did read this book, despite a real lack of interest in the plot. It was all I had available at the time and I was desperate. Not reccomended for lovers of engrossing, emotional stories that are character-driven and leave you still involved with the story after you have turned the last page. This, in my opinion was a convoluted mess and never engaged my interest.

Going by other GR responses this seems to be either a love it or hate it book. I gave it four stars overall but there was one supernatural element that Darwin tried that she didn't quite pull off. Coming back to finish this review & others piling up when I can find time (I have notes so won't forget) unfortunately my study workload suddenly doubled.. Going by other GR responses this seems to be either a love it or hate it book. I gave it four stars overall but there was one supernatural element that Darwin tried that she didn't quite pull off. Coming back to finish this review & others piling up when I can find time (I have notes so won't forget) unfortunately my study workload suddenly doubled.. ...more

Jul 16, 2007 Linda rated it liked it

Recommends it for: time travelers

mathematically speaking, intrigued by the parallels and contrasts of the same house and region--different occupants and eras--not exactly E=mc2 but it did get a few dusty synapses firing for me. enjoyed the photography facet of the story as well. deja vu explained plainly.

Nov 11, 2008 Care rated it it was ok

One of those books that I can't decide if it was poorly done or I just didn't get. Too much unexplained and no strong connection between the stories, at least to me.

from bookmooch but I don't remember who rec'd this...

One of those books that I can't decide if it was poorly done or I just didn't get. Too much unexplained and no strong connection between the stories, at least to me.

from bookmooch but I don't remember who rec'd this...

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I very nearly gave up on this book but I'm glad I didnt. By the time Anna met Theo in the 70's storie, and when Steven got to Brussels in the 19th century part, I was hooked. Although I did enjoy it, I wish we found out exactly what Anna's connection with Steven Fairhurst was. Recommended. I very nearly gave up on this book but I'm glad I didnt. By the time Anna met Theo in the 70's storie, and when Steven got to Brussels in the 19th century part, I was hooked. Although I did enjoy it, I wish we found out exactly what Anna's connection with Steven Fairhurst was. Recommended. ...more

Hahahaha one of the people who reviewed this called it 'smutty' and 'nasty' ...someone better warn her off these newfangled things called 'novels' immediately.
I really enjoyed this, and didn't find it smutty, nasty, or abuse-packed. Hahahaha one of the people who reviewed this called it 'smutty' and 'nasty' ...someone better warn her off these newfangled things called 'novels' immediately.
I really enjoyed this, and didn't find it smutty, nasty, or abuse-packed. ...more

Oct 02, 2012 Lenny rated it really liked it

Two stories intertwined: one of a veteran of the Peninsular war, his Spanish lost love and his friendship with a young English woman; the other about an English teen left to her unknown uncle in the house of the veteran of the first story.

I loved reading this beautifully written book. It is about love and follows the lives of Major Stephen Fairhurst, a veteran of Waterloo who also served under Wellington in Portugal and Spain. After leaving the army, brutally crippled, he inherits Kersey Hall in Suffolk, and we join his story at the momentous events at Peterloo in 1819. A private man, he begins to correspond with Lucy, who is keen to learn more about Waterloo. Through his letters, we learn something of the brutality of 19th-centu I loved reading this beautifully written book. It is about love and follows the lives of Major Stephen Fairhurst, a veteran of Waterloo who also served under Wellington in Portugal and Spain. After leaving the army, brutally crippled, he inherits Kersey Hall in Suffolk, and we join his story at the momentous events at Peterloo in 1819. A private man, he begins to correspond with Lucy, who is keen to learn more about Waterloo. Through his letters, we learn something of the brutality of 19th-century warfare. Stephen is nursing the loss of his great love, and as his story unfolds, he reveals the details to Lucy. Lucy is a woman ahead of her time. Keen to experience all aspects of life before making any decision to settle down.
Stephen's story runs in parallel with that of Anna, a fifteen-year-old girl whose mother has packed her off to stay at Kersey Hall with her Uncle Ray in the hot summer of 1976. Anna comes from a dysfunctional family; her mother has numerous boyfriends and frequently moves from place to place as her relationships break up. At Kersey Hall, Anna meets her grandmother and Uncle Ray for the first time and quickly realises the reason why her mother left home when she found she was pregnant with Anna. There is also a young boy, Cecil living there. Anna is given Stephen's letters to read and, naturally wants to know more about his life. Left to her own devices at Kersey Hall, Anna makes friends with Eva and Theo, photographers who live in the old stables. Feeling sorry for her, they take her their wing and teach her how to take and develop photographs. Anna and Theo's relationship develops when Eva leaves to visit Madrid. Quite simply, they fall in love, despite the age-gap. (This is where you have to accept that life was very different in the 1970s.) Anna has taken Cecil under her wing but something happens, that will change all their lives forever.
Stephen and Anna's stories are bound together by Kersey Hall and photography. The characters are vivid, and although they live in different times, they experience similar feelings and emotions. ...more

Not sure how title relates

The story jumps back and forth between Kersey England 1819/20's (Stephan and Lucy) ( with flashbacks to Waterloo and the preceding battles) and 1976.(Anna and disturbing set of other char) The tie between the characters is very thin and not real clear. The most obvious tie was the usage of image creation as almost a declaration of independence. Anna with photos and Lucy with drawing(although there was reference to a new-fangled technology of "sun pictures" being discussed and investigated) . And child abandonment/endangering...
Otherwise the story was very hard to follow since it was not always obvious which time frame you were reading. Sometimes it could take a few paragraph to realize. Maybe in the hardcopy it was better illustrated but in the Kindle version there was not transition except with the letters.
The main ties was Stephan's letters to Lucy were being read by Anna and Anna was living in what used to be Stephan's farm.
Both story lines with disjointed and a little disturbing and not unpredictable.
I picked the book up because of the title ( I was a math major in college and like to find novels that tie into other interests) and the fact the author was related to Darwin but that was not enough to carry it. If you are into the history of the Anglo/French wars you might find that part interesting ( it completely lost me) (view spoiler)[ the predictableness of Lucy and Anna befriending these older men but seemingly asking lots of questions and then inappropriately pulling them into bed with them seemed a bit contrite- they had an air of independence before that and while i know they were the instigator for the most part it seemed to cheapen the relationships. (hide spoiler)]

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Sep 22, 2018 Ed Avern rated it really liked it

I bought this book after hearing Emma Darwin speak at a writing workshop. It is very much outside of my normal reading material - being both a work of historical fiction and a romance - and I was intrigued to see if the writing techniques that Emma had spoken about (she spoke extremely well) worked in practice.

I'll admit that I struggled with the book initially. The two protagonists, set in two different time periods, both written in the first person, were initially jarring, and I struggled to r

I'll admit that I struggled with the book initially. The two protagonists, set in two different time periods, both written in the first person, were initially jarring, and I struggled to relate one to the other. But gradually the links between them - both personally, geographically and thematically - became apparent, and about a third of the way through I found (and I'm sure Emma would appreciate this metaphor) that everything suddenly came into focus. I was completely hooked, and quickly finished the rest of the novel. I will be buying Emma's other books very soon!

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An absolutely fabulous book. It has been a long time since I have been so immersed in a book. If you like a literary novel with a historical setting devoid of toe-curling cliches, this is the book for you. It is a wonderfully handled panoply of the many different ways humans live and love. A real treat!

Oct 25, 2019 Catherine rated it really liked it

Wonderful book. normally I totally avoid anything romantic. I bought this book a long time ago and didn't read it until now. It moves between two times, past and present. I think I enjoyed the story in the past more although the teenager in the present came across as a very real character. Complex, sad, happy! Wonderful book. normally I totally avoid anything romantic. I bought this book a long time ago and didn't read it until now. It moves between two times, past and present. I think I enjoyed the story in the past more although the teenager in the present came across as a very real character. Complex, sad, happy! ...more

May 30, 2017 Katt rated it it was ok

I might try this another time, as usually this kind of thing would be right up my street.... Unfortunately I found it slow and boring, with no especially likable characters. I put it down after reading about a third of it.

Jul 29, 2021 Belinda rated it liked it

The writing in this book is literary and beautiful. Without a doubt. I didn't connect with it overly though. It's a very gentle book. A love story but so much more too. The two storylines were so tenuously connected though and the modern one was a bit lacklustre. 70 percent The writing in this book is literary and beautiful. Without a doubt. I didn't connect with it overly though. It's a very gentle book. A love story but so much more too. The two storylines were so tenuously connected though and the modern one was a bit lacklustre. 70 percent ...more

Mar 11, 2019 Helen rated it liked it

There was plenty to like, but I didn't love it like I'd hoped to, given how much I love Emma Darwin's blog. There was plenty to like, but I didn't love it like I'd hoped to, given how much I love Emma Darwin's blog. ...more

In parts exciting, interesting, confusing, thrilling and lots of other doing words, i enjoyed this book. It made me happy and sad and made me think. I enjoyed it.

I liked the two storylines but was left unsatisfied in the end because there were too many loose ends. Especially in the more recent story. For instance, why was the grandmother, Belle, so tortured? What happened to Cecil? And Ray? Yey, the heroine gets laid, but everyone else was pretty sketchy.

Also, please explain the title. It was what attracted me to the book to start, but I never got what it was about.

Dec 23, 2013 Ron Charles rated it really liked it

The strange allure of Emma Darwin's debut novel, The Mathematics of Love, reflects its enigmatic title. If there's anything numerical about our affections, it's higher math than most of us can compute, like the formulas behind snowflakes or hurricanes, and a similar sort of complexity makes this story just as fascinating.

Two very different characters, separated by more than 150 years, hold our attention here. The first is Anna Ware, a rueful teenager who's already experienced enough disappointme

Two very different characters, separated by more than 150 years, hold our attention here. The first is Anna Ware, a rueful teenager who's already experienced enough disappointment to make her precociously cynical about matters of the heart. Her errant mother has packed her off to spend the summer of 1976 in the English countryside with an uncle at a shuttered boarding school. Of course, any young person sent to an old mansion in the English countryside is bound to discover a wardrobe with a false back, and, in this case, Anna's portal to a different world is a stash of old letters written by an early owner of the estate. These documents are faded and difficult to read, but with little else to do, Anna is gradually drawn into the life of Stephen Fairhurst, a veteran of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

If you're in a book club torn between lovers of 19th-century and modern fiction, The Mathematics of Love may be just the thing to square the circle. The bilingual dexterity of this novel is one of its several triumphs as Darwin alternates between the murky moral chaos of the 1970s and the rigid formality of the genteel class in the early 19th century. Anna and Fairhurst, living in the same space though separated by time and unimaginable social changes, are equally haunting characters, the parallels between their lives tantalizing and evocative.

Darwin, a London-based writer and photographer, portrays 15-year-old Anna with a remarkable fidelity to the odd mix of maturity and naiveté that marks modern adolescence. Having witnessed her mother's ordeals in love and endured the empty promises of horny high school boys, Anna assumes she's too wise to be shocked or seduced, but terrible family secrets rear up before long, and two charming photographers who live nearby lure her into the sexual peril of their darkroom.

Only the muted agony of Fairhurst's mysterious life could tempt us away from Anna's vulnerable summer. He's crippled as much by his physical injury as by his devotion to a brief wartime romance he can neither recapture nor relinquish. Laced through Anna's story, his sections of the novel are conveyed by a complex mixture of voices: his description of the strictly repressed life he leads after the war, his intimate letters to a young female artist and his ghastly memories of the battle that took his leg and cauterized his soul.

The pacing slackens at times during Fairhurst's long road to emotional recovery, but his intense sincerity draws us along. Thinking of another woman who obviously adores him, he writes, "I realized suddenly that I had not offered her a place in my life because that place was already filled by a presence -- a love -- so perfect that it was beyond my power, or my desire, to displace it with mere pleasure or friendship or bodily contentment."

That overwrought tone seems just the right touch for a man laboring under the weight of impeccable decorum, the kind of man who says he felt "a many-layered grief that swelled in my throat and held me silent." In contrast to the cynical age Anna struggles through, Fairhurst lives in a time when a brave war hero can write, without snickering, "We loved so perfectly that, however long we lived, we could wish for nothing more."

Struggling to understand the bizarre crises of her summer and the passionate affair she read about in Fairhurst's old letters, Anna realizes that she can't fathom the way people behave. A friend assures her, "The mathematics of love defy arithmetic." Surely that's true, but the two stories that Darwin tells here add up to something hauntingly beautiful.

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Emma Darwin was born and brought up in London, but has also spent time in both Manhattan and Brussels, and later studied Drama at university. Her debut novel The Mathematics of Love (Headline Review) is probably the only novel ever to have been simultaneously listed for both the Commonwealth Writers Best First Book, and the RNA Novel of the Year prizes. Her bestselling second novel, A Secret Alch Emma Darwin was born and brought up in London, but has also spent time in both Manhattan and Brussels, and later studied Drama at university. Her debut novel The Mathematics of Love (Headline Review) is probably the only novel ever to have been simultaneously listed for both the Commonwealth Writers Best First Book, and the RNA Novel of the Year prizes. Her bestselling second novel, A Secret Alchemy (Headline Review), was part of a PhD at Goldsmiths, which explored the writing of historical fiction. Her first non-fiction book, Getting Started in Writing Historical Fiction (John Murray Learning/Teach Yourself), was published in March 2016. She has been helping writers for over a decade, and has particular interests in historical fiction and creative non-fiction; she taught Creative Writing for the Open University for several years, has worked with academic writing as an RLF Fellow at Goldsmiths and the Royal College of Music, and blogs at This Itch of Writing. ...more

Danielle Evans was just 26 when she released her short story collection Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self in 2010, a multi-award-winning...

"all photographs are about death, really, and time: about preserving a moment in silver and chemicals, when life itself is never preserved, when every cell of everything is already decaying, and being replaced, and decaying again. The subject and the image coexist for the moment that the shutter opens and closes. And then the subject decays but the image lives on unchanged." — 0 likes

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