{"product_id":"the-hand-that-first-held-mine-the-award-winning-sunday-times-bestseller-from-the-author-of-hamnet-9781035430093","title":"The Hand That First Held Mine: The Award-Winning Sunday Times Bestseller from the Author of Hamnet","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eSunday Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling novel from the author of HAMNET and THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT about love and motherhood \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eSunday Times \u003c\/i\u003etop 10 bestselling novel from the author of HAMNET and THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e*Over 400,000 copies sold*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the 2010 Costa Novel Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e'\u003cb\u003eExquisitely sensual\u003c\/b\u003e'\u003cb\u003e Emma Donoghue, author of \u003ci\u003eRoom\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e-----\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFresh out of university and in disgrace, Lexie Sinclair is waiting for life to begin. When the sophisticated Innes Kent turns up on her doorstep in rural Devon, she realises she can wait no longer, and leaves for London. There, Lexie carves out a new life for herself at the heart of bohemian 1950s Soho, with Innes by her side.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the present, Ted and Elina no longer recognise their lives after the arrival of their first child. Elina, an artist, wonders if she will ever paint again, while Ted is disturbed by memories of his own childhood - memories that don't tally with his parents' version of events.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs Ted's search for answers gathers momentum, so a portrait is revealed of two women separated by fifty years, but linked by their passionate refusal to settle for ordinary lives.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e_____\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'The journey this novel invites us on is wonderful, involving time travel, heart ache, elation, confusion, freedom, nostalgia and art\u003ci\u003e' Scotland on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A skilful, hurtful writer, capable of imbuing the everyday with weight and colour, ridiculously pleasurable to read' \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Genuinely unputdownable'\u003ci\u003e Literary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781035430093\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 29 Jul 2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Headline Publishing Group\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 19.6(H)x13(L)x3.6(W)333\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 333\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eMaggie O'Farrell is the author of HAMNET, Winner of the  Women's Prize for Fiction 2020, and the memoir I AM, I AM, I AM, both \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e no. 1 bestsellers.  Her novels include AFTER YOU'D GONE, MY LOVER'S LOVER, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, which won a Somerset Maugham Award, THE VANISHING ACT OF ESME LENNOX, THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE, which won the 2010 Costa Novel Award, INSTRUCTIONS FOR A HEATWAVE, THIS MUST BE THE PLACE and THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT, which was shortlisted for the Women's Prize. She is also the author of three books for children, WHERE SNOW ANGELS GO, THE BOY WHO LOST HIS SPARK and WHEN THE STAMMER CAME TO STAY. She lives in Edinburgh.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e","brand":"Maggie O'Farrell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47740627157209,"sku":"9781035430093","price":24.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781035430093.jpg?v=1769508405","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/the-hand-that-first-held-mine-the-award-winning-sunday-times-bestseller-from-the-author-of-hamnet-9781035430093","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}