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.

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.