About the Author

Chris Cleave is a New York Times #1 bestselling novelist whose books are published in forty countries. His debut novel INCENDIARY won the Somerset Maugham Award, among others. His second, the Costa-shortlisted THE OTHER HAND, was a global bestseller and sat in the New York Times Top Ten for over a year (under the US title, Little Bee). Both books were shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prizes. He lives in Kingston-upon-Thames with his wife and three children, and welcomes readers at facebook.com/ChrisCleaveBooks, www.chriscleave.com and twitter.com/chriscleave.

Reviews

It's a war novel but not as you know it. Cleave, a Guardian journalist and celebrated novelist (Incendiary, The Other Hand), has reportedly written his best book to date with this tale of a young teacher determined to stay in Blitz-time London. - Esquire, Top 10 Best New Novels of 2016Among the most hyped novels of 2016 - The Independent The Best Books to Read in 2016a second world war story that moves between blitz-hit London, where an aristocratic young woman teaches children deemed unsuitable for evacuation, and the bombarded island of Malta. - The Guardian Books in 2016 - A literary calendarA story of romance and heartbreak set during World War II. - The Washington Post - The 20 novels we can't wait to read in 2016. And this list only gets us to JuneAlthough humour is an important ingredient in this novel, it's a book with a lot of heart and insight ... it is profound and provocative and beautifully written. - Sunday Telegraph, Australia on THE OTHER HANDExquisitely balanced between terrible sadness and brilliant humour. - Observer on THE OTHER HANDBig themes, high emotion and cliffhangers aplenty... an enormously affecting investigation of love, guilt and global responsibility, told with a bittersweet urgency. - Justine Jordan, Guardian on THE OTHER HAND