Maggie O'Farrell – författare

The no. 1 bestseller that inspired the major film starring Jessie Buckley and Paul MescalWINNER: BEST PICTURE (DRAMA) AND BEST ACTRESS AT THE GOLDEN GLOBESWINNER: OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM AND BEST ACTRESS AT THE BAFTASNOMINATED FOR EIGHT ACADEMY AWARDS, INCLUDING BEST SCREENPLAY AND BEST PICTURE'A thing of shimmering wonder' David Mitchell ✨A LOVE THAT DRAWS THEM TOGETHER. A LOSS THAT THREATENS TO TEAR THEM APART.The untold love story that inspired Shakespeare's greatest masterpiece.On a summer's day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a sudden fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help. Why is nobody at home?Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London.Neither parent knows that Hamnet will not survive the week.Hamnet tells the powerful story of Agnes and Will, and of the son whose life has been all but forgotten, but who inspired one of the greatest plays ever written.🌟Fall in love with HAMNET this year 🌟'HAMNET is a feast for the senses''One of my favourite books of the year. Simply gorgeous''Words fail me... this story had me feeling everything''I read and reread passages throughout this exceptional novel'

The intense and breathtakingly accomplished novel from the bestselling author of HAMNET and THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT*440,000 copies sold* 'Seductive in style, prickly, disturbing and delicious' Olivia Laing_____Edinburgh in the 1930s. The Lennox family is having trouble with its youngest daughter. Esme is outspoken, unconventional, and repeatedly embarrasses them in polite society. Something will have to be done.Years later, a young woman named Iris Lockhart receives a letter informing her that she has a great-aunt in a psychiatric unit who is about to be released.Iris has never heard of Esme Lennox and the one person who should know more, her grandmother Kitty, seems unable to answer Iris's questions. What could Esme have done to warrant a lifetime in an institution? And how is it possible for a person to be so completely erased from a family's history?_____'Actually unputdownable' Ali Smith'Compulsively readable' Daily Telegraph'O'Farrell's subtlety and delicate touch have never been so finely demonstrated' Independent on Sunday_____⭐ What readers are saying; ⭐ 'A gripping page turner and easily the best book i've read this year' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Truly stunning... the way she writes is just exquisite' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'I wanted it to go on and on' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2023A Reese's Bookclub December Pick (2022)An Instant Sunday Times, New York Times and Irish Times Bestseller (August 2022)A Guardian and LitHub Book of the Year (December 2022)'Every bit as evocative and spellbinding as Hamnet. O'Farrell, thank God, just seems to be getting better and better' i newspaper'Her narrative enchantment will wrest suspense and surprise out of a death foretold' Financial Times'Ingenious, inventive, humane, wry, truthful . . . better than her last novel' Scotsman'Finely written and vividly imagined' Guardian'In O'Farrell's hands, historical detail comes alive' SpectatorWinter, 1561. Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is taken on an unexpected visit to a country villa by her husband, Alfonso. As they sit down to dinner it occurs to Lucrezia that Alfonso has a sinister purpose in bringing her here. He intends to kill her.Lucrezia is sixteen years old, and has led a sheltered life locked away inside Florence's grandest palazzo. Here, in this remote villa, she is entirely at the mercy of her increasingly erratic husband.What is Lucrezia to do with this sudden knowledge? What chance does she have against Alfonso, ruler of a province, and a trained soldier? How can she ensure her survival.The Marriage Portrait is an unforgettable reimagining of the life of a young woman whose proximity to power places her in mortal danger.

"Konstigt väder lockar fram konstiga beteenden." LONDON, JULI 1976. En värmebölja som verkar oändlig har svept in över staden. Det har inte regnat på månader när den pensionerade Robert Riordan säger till sin fru Gretta att han ska gå och köpa tidningen, men aldrig kommer tillbaka. Robert försvinner och de tre vuxna barnen måste återvända hem döttrarna Monica och Aoife som slutat tala med varandra och sonen Michael Francis som står på randen till skilsmässa var och en med egna idéer om faderns försvinnande. Inget av syskonen anar att deras mor tror sig ha en förklaring, som hon väljer att behålla för sig själv. Sommaren utan regn är en intim skildring av en familj i kris. En psykologiskt trovärdig roman som lyckas med bedriften att vara nagelbitande spännande och djupt mänsklig på en och samma gång. Boken innehåller bokcirkelfrågor! Maggie O'Farrell föddes i Nordirland 1972 och växte upp i Wales och Skottland. Hon har tidigare arbetat som journalist men är numera författare på heltid. Debutromanen After You'd Gone (2000) hyllades både i Storbritannien och internationellt och Den hand som först höll min vann det prestigefulla Costa Book Award 2010 för Bästa roman. Sommaren utan regn är hennes sjätte bok. "Inget skapar mer sprängkraft än en familj full av hemligheter som förs samman under en kris. Med tusen små detaljer skapar Maggie O'Farrell en närvaro som är både intim och allmängiltig." SvD "Storheten ligger i detaljerna. I sättet som Maggie O'Farrell liksom pratar, tjattrar fram de allra mest väsentliga detaljerna i faderns försvinnande, trogen den babblande mammans sätt att uttrycka sig. Eller hur hon registrerar varje liten rörelse i hur familjemedlemmarna placerar sig i rummet när de föses samman för överläggningar. Med mig bär jag närheten till Monica, Aofie och Michael Francis och till deras djupt dubbelmoraliska mor Gretta - en närhet framskriven med ett intensivt och flödande språk." Kulturnytt, SR "[E]n roman som har sin styrka i dramaturgin och de poetiska naturskildringarna." UNT"Alla kännetecken för en roman av Maggie O'Farrell finns där: en familj med hemligheter i sitt förflutna och ord som aldrig sades, sedan länge bortglömda släktingar, en klaustrofobisk stämning av besvärande känslomässig närhet. Det här är en fulländad och beroendeframkallande historia berättad med äkta mänsklighet, värme och smittande kärlek för dess karaktärer. Rekommenderas starkt." OBSERVER "En författare vars djupsinne och insiktsfullhet svävar precis under ytan på vad som förefaller vara otvungen lätthet Den här romanen har något utsökt över sig, en värme och en lättillgänglighet som gör det omöjligt att sluta läsa och utan tvivel kommer göra den till en succé. Hon har gjort det igen." GUARDIAN

"Lyssna. Träden i den här berättelsen vaknar, ruskar på sig och rättar till grenarna igen. En byig vind blåser in från havet och de rastlösa träden knycker otåligt på nacken, som om de visste att någonting är på väg att hända." När den stilige och sofistikerade Innes Kent dyker upp vid Lexie Sinclairs föräldrahem i Devon inser Lexie att hon inte kan fortsätta vänta på att livet ska ta fart. Hon ger sig av till London för att skapa sig en ny tillvaro i hjärtat av konstvärlden i femtiotalets Soho. Elina och Ted lever i nutida London, och försöker återfå fotfästet efter den komplicerade födseln av sitt första barn. Elina kämpar med att förlika moderskapets krav med sin identitet som konstnär, och Ted oroas allt mer av barndomsminnen som inte rimmar med vad hans föräldrar berättat. Ett enastående porträtt av två kvinnor i olika tidsperioder tecknas allt tydligare. Trots att femtio år skiljer dem åt, binds de samman på ett sätt som ingen av dem hade kunnat ana. Tips! Boken innehåller bokcirkelfrågor! "Det är både en spännande bladvändare och en eftertänksam undersökning av dynamiken i några av livets vanliga och mest omtumlande upplevelser." Helsingborgs Dagblad "Hon skriver ofta i presens och skapar därför en närvaro och stämning, med så skarpa scener att romanen nästan klipps fram, likt en film. Det bara händer, de är där, jag är med." Kulturnytt "Bokens tempo uppnås aldrig på bekostnad av poesin: O'Farrell skriver med precis skärpa, uppmärksammar de små detaljerna, de vardagliga stunderna som omärkligt förhöjer en upplevelse." THE OBSERVER "Detta är inte bara en roman om moderskap; den handlar om kärlek och slumpen, om konst och hur en persons frånvaro - oavsett om det är en älskares eller en moders - kan orsaka en ihållande smärta." NPR BOOKS MAGGIE O'FARRELL föddes i Nordirland 1972 och växte upp i Wales och Skottland. Hon har tidigare arbetat som journalist men är numera författare på heltid. Den hand som först höll min belönades med ett flertal priser, bl. a. det prestigefulla Costa Book Award 2010 för Bästa roman. Hennes senaste roman, Sommaren utan regn, gavs ut i svensk översättning 2014.

The Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling memoir from the author of HAMNET and THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT With an introduction by Ann Patchett⭐AS FEATURED ON: DESERT ISLAND DISCS, BIG SCOTTISH BOOK CLUB, THE ZOE BALL BOOKCLUB⭐ A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, GUARDIAN, IRISH TIMES, OBSERVER, RED and THE TELEGRAPH⭐ SHORTLISTED FOR THE PEN ACKERLEY PRIZE FOR MEMOIR AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY 2018'O'Farrell takes up a bow and arrow and aims right at the human heart' The Times______I Am, I Am, I Am is novelist Maggie O'Farrell's unputdownable story of a life told in near-death experiences. A childhood illness she was not expected to survive. A terrifying encounter on a remote path. A mismanaged labour in an understaffed hospital. An ongoing struggle to protect a child from a condition that leaves her daily vulnerable.Insightful, inspirational, gorgeously written, it is a book to devour at a sitting - a story you finish newly conscious of life's fragility, determined to make every heartbeat count.______'Leaves the reader feeling breathless, grateful and fully alive' Ann Patchett'A rare talent to enthral... It will leave you bereft and wanting more' Sunday Times'It is absolutely, in every possible sense of the word, brilliant' Max Porter'I have never read a book about death that has made me feel so alive' Tracy Chevalier

The no. 1 bestseller that inspired the major film starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal✨WINNER: BEST ACTRESS AT THE ACADEMY AWARDS✨ ✨WINNER: BEST PICTURE (DRAMA) AND BEST ACTRESS AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES✨✨WINNER: OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM AND BEST ACTRESS AT THE BAFTAS✨ 'A thing of shimmering wonder' David Mitchell A LOVE THAT DRAWS THEM TOGETHER. A LOSS THAT THREATENS TO TEAR THEM APART.The untold love story that inspired Shakespeare's greatest masterpiece.On a summer's day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a sudden fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help. Why is nobody at home?Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London.Neither parent knows that Hamnet will not survive the week.Hamnet tells the powerful story of Agnes and Will, and of the son whose life has been all but forgotten, but who inspired one of the greatest plays ever written. 🌟Fall in love with HAMNET this year 🌟'HAMNET is a feast for the senses''One of my favourite books of the year. Simply gorgeous' 'Words fail me... this story had me feeling everything''I read and reread passages throughout this exceptional novel'

The Sunday Times no. 3 bestselling novel from author of HAMNET and THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT*Over 330,000 copies sold*Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 'A complex, riveting novel of love and hope that grips at the heart' The Sunday Times_____A reclusive former film star living in the wilds of Ireland, Claudette Wells thinks nothing of firing a gun if strangers get too close to her house. Why is she so fiercely protective of her family, and what made her walk out on her career at the height of her fame?Her husband Daniel, reeling from a discovery about a woman he last saw twenty years ago, is about to make an exit of his own. It is a journey that will send him off-course, far from home. Will his love for Claudette be enough to bring him back?This Must Be The Place crosses continents and time zones, creating a portrait of an extraordinary marriage, the forces that hold it together and the pressures that drive it apart.______'Moving and hilarious. I loved it' Rachel Joyce'A tour de force. Dazzling' Observer'A conjuror's sleight of hand... deft and compelling' Guardian'Magnificent... perceptive, profound and page-turning in equal measures' Cathy Rentzenbrink_____⭐ What readers are saying; ⭐ 'One of the few books in my adult life I've read more than once... cannot recommend enough' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Perfect to lose yourself in' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'A wonderful novel which held me captivated and in awe' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

“When the Stammer Came to Stay is a book about stammering, but it is also a book about love, kindness and sensitivity. It is one of those rare books that leaves a warm feeling, and for some it might just go a little further and leave a better understanding of stammering, and an idea of how to achieve a positive outlook in life.” – STAMMA British Stammering Association From Maggie O'Farrell, the best-selling and award-winning author of Hamnet – now a Bafta and Golden Globe-winning film starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal – comes a hopeful, powerful and stunningly illustrated new book, based on Maggie's own experience on living with a stammer.- An ideal gift and a truly enchanting read.- Perfect for children aged 5-8 with themes of self-confidence, anxiety, stammering, sisterhood, myth and folklore.Sisters Bea and Min couldn't be any more different – Bea is neat and tidy; Min is messy and mucky. Together, they are a perfect pair because Min loves to chat and Bea loves to listen. Then, one day, as Min is chatting, her tongue feels suddenly locked. The words forming in her mouth never make it out. Some days later, still struggling to speak, she sees the most extraordinary thing at her shoulder in a mirror ... a creature, a thing, seizing the words as they rise to her lips, and cramming them into its mouth…Min continues to struggle with her stammer – how can she truly be herself, when she cannot do what she loves most: chat! Bea is the only one who truly sees, and understands, her. Together, they go on a journey of discovery – what IS this creature? – and they find not quite a solution, but a way to make peace with themselves and to love and embrace what makes each of them different. Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year 2025 The third book in a trilogy of modern fairy tales by Maggie O'Farrell and Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini featuring children with real life problems and the mythical creatures that attend to them. Look out for Where Snow Angels Go and The Boy Who Lost His Spark.“This heartwarming book – with gorgeous illustrations by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini that bring to mind the classic drawings by Shirley Hughes – ends on a positive message for young children: about looking for the good that happens in your life without you noticing.” – The Independent, Books of the Month“A poignant tale of two sisters striving to live alongside their demons, and the transformative power of acceptance, of your loved ones, and of yourself.” – Juno“Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini’s superlative illustrations combine watercolour delicacy with saturated colour, evoking the richness of a safe, loving home.” – The Guardian “[A] hopeful and powerful new book.” – The Bookseller“Bears the lyrical and storytelling hallmark of O’Farrell’s best writing.” – Irish Independent“An uplifting story drawn from Maggie O’Farrell’s own experience of stammering.” – Sainsbury’s Magazine“A touching, beautifully written story which will resonate with readers well beyond its target age group of five-plus.” – The Telegraph

The groundbreaking debut novel from the bestselling author of HAMNET and THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT: one of the most extraordinary love stories you'll ever read.*Over 480,000 copies sold* 'This devastatingly skilful love story will break your heart!' Alice Winn'Gripping. Superbly moving' Ali Smith'Such a visceral, heartrending read about grief and love' Claire DaverleyA distraught young woman boards a train at King's Cross to return to her family in Scotland. Six hours later, she catches sight of something so terrible in a mirror at Waverley Station that she gets on the next train back to London.AFTER YOU'D GONE follows Alice's mental journey through her own past, after a traffic accident has left her in a coma. A love story that is also a story of absence, and of how our choices can reverberate through the generations, it slowly draws us closer to a dark secret at a family's heart.'Remarkable. Luminous' Observer'Deeply moving' The Times'An amazing study of love and grief as it poses the wrenching question: What do you do with all the love you have for someone when they're gone?' Glamour_____⭐ What readers are saying; ⭐ 'Moving, funny, life affirming and devastating all at once' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'I have never been so emotionally moved by a book!' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Made my heart swell and break in turn. Beautifully written' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Daniel Sullivan är en man med ett komplicerat liv. Han är en tvättäkta New York-bo som numera bor på irländska vischan, han har barn i Kalifornien han aldrig träffar och en pappa i Brooklyn han avskyr. Hans fru Claudette plockar utan att blinka fram geväret om någon skulle våga sig in på deras mark. Claudette var en av de mest omtalade kvinnorna i filmvärlden innan hon drog sig tillbaka till lugnet på den avsides gården där de bor. Men en oväntad upptäckt och en kvinna som Daniel förlorade kontakten med för 20 år sedan skakar om tillvaron som han och Claudette omsorgsfullt byggt upp. Avslöjandet får honom att tappa fotfästet och för honom långt bort från både fru, barn och hem. Maggie OFarrells sjunde roman tar med läsaren på en resa över världens kontinenter. Det är en lysande berättelse om det vi lämnar bakom oss och de personer vi blir när vi letar efter vår plats i världen. MAGGIE O'FARRELL föddes i Nordirland 1972 och växte upp i Wales och Skottland. Hon har tidigare arbetat som journalist men är numera författare på heltid. Hon belönades med det prestigefulla Costa Novel Award för Den hand som först höll min (2015) och är nu nominerad till samma pris igen för Det måste vara här. "'Det måste vara här' är en bok som gör lite ont att läsa, för alla inblandade klantar sig hela tiden. Man gör fel. Man fattar fel livsbeslut. Ibland är man direkt förfärlig mot dem man älskar mest. Men det är också just det som gör boken läsvärd, för Maggie OFarrell berättar med vänlig kärlek om människors lätt hopplösa försök att älska varandra." Lotta Olsson, DN Det är som det var förr före förpliktelserna när man i vintermörkret kunde krypa upp med sin tegelsten och försvinna in i en annan värld. Bara vistas där så lång tid det tar tills sista bladet är vänt. THERESE ERIKSSON, SVD med stadig stil tecknar Maggie OFarrell hur människan rör sig mellan platser och möten. Hur hon fångas av ett val, missar ett annat val och ändå rör sig vidare. ANNELI DUFVA, SVERIGES RADIO "Storslagen ... lyhörd, djuplodande och en riktig bladvändare." Cathy Rentzenbrink, författare "Det är hennes bästa roman hittills, en bok som bekräftar hennes ställning som en av Storbritanniens mest gedigna, skickliga och uppfinningsrika berättare." OBSERVER "Berättelsen växlar sömlöst mellan årtionden, platser och röster. Det är komplext och storskaligt men samtidigt utfört med bländande charm." SUNDAY MIRROR

The award-winning, bestselling author of Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait returns with a soaring historical novel set in Ireland in the years before and after the Great Hunger.“A breathtaking hymn to the sanctity of natural spaces, operating on timescales both intimate and geological. I finished Land moved not only by the vivid lives of its human characters, but the thrumming, gorgeous presence of its mosses, waters, winds, and skies.” —Daniel Mason, author of North WoodsOn a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic, Tomás and his reluctant son, Liam, are working for the great Ordnance Survey project to map the whole of Ireland. The year is 1865, and in a country not long since ravaged and emptied by the Great Hunger, the task is not an easy one. Tomás, however, is determined that his maps will be a record of the disaster.The British soldiers in charge are due to arrive any day, expecting the work to be completed, but Tomás is unexpectedly sent off course by an unsettling encounter in a copse. His life, and the lives of those of his family, will never be the same again. Liam is terrified by the sudden change in his taciturn father. What was it that caused such cracks to open in Tomás, and how is Liam, aged only ten, going to finish the mapping and get them both home?Land is a novel about separation and reunion, tragedy and recovery, colonization and rebellion. It is a story of buried treasure, overlapping lives, ancient woodland, persistent ghosts, a particularly loyal dog, and how, when it comes to both land and history, nothing ever goes away. As spellbinding and varied as the landscape that inspired it, Land is, above all, a story of survival, for our times and for all time.

The stunning, groundbreaking debut novel of wrenching love and grief from the New York Times bestselling author of The Marriage Portrait and National Book Circle Award Winner HamnetAlice Raikes takes a train from London to Scotland to visit her family, but when she gets there she witnesses something so shocking that she insists on returning to London immediately. A few hours later, Alice is lying in a coma after an accident that may or may not have been a suicide attempt. Alice's family gathers at her bedside and as they wait, argue, and remember, long-buried tensions emerge. The more they talk, the more they seem to conceal. Alice, meanwhile, slides between varying levels of consciousness, recalling her past and a love affair that recently ended. A riveting story that skips through time and interweaves multiple points of view, After You'd Gone is a novel of stunning psychological depth, marking the debut of a major literary talent.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Marriage Portrait and Hamnet comes an intense, unnerving and passionate story of betrayal, loss and love, with all the frisson and psychological intensity of Rebecca.When Lily moves into new boyfriend Marcus's apartment and plunges headlong into their relationship, she must contend with an intangible, hostile presence—Marcus’s ex-girlfriend, Sinead. As Lily and Marcus become more deeply involved, Lily becomes obsessed with Sinead's fate and thinks she sees her everywhere. She must question not only her sanity, but whether the man she loves is someone she can, or should, be with at all.

AFTER YOU'D GONE is the groundbreaking debut novel from the Costa-Award winning Maggie O'Farrell, author of HAMNET and I AM, I AM, I AM. It is a stunning, best-selling novel of wrenching love and grief.A distraught young woman boards a train at King's Cross to return to her family in Scotland. Six hours later, she catches sight of something so terrible in a mirror at Waverley Station that she gets on the next train back to London.AFTER YOU'D GONE follows Alice's mental journey through her own past, after a traffic accident has left her in a coma. A love story that is also a story of absence, and of how our choices can reverberate through the generations, it slowly draws us closer to a dark secret at a family's heart.

From the author of HAMNET and I AM, I AM, I AM comes the Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller (2002) MY LOVER'S LOVER, an intense, unnerving and passionate story of betrayal, loss and love, with all the frisson and psychological intensity of Rebecca.When Lily moves into Marcus's flat and plunges headlong into a relationship, she must contend not merely with the disapproval of flatmate Aidan, but with a more intangible, hostile presence. Could it be that Sinead, Marcus's ex, is trying to communicate with her? When Lily begins to 'see' Sinead, first about the flat, and then on the streets of London, she must question not merely her sanity, but whether the man she loves is someone she can, or indeed ought, to live with at all.

Gripping, insightful and deft, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US by Maggie O'Farrell is a haunting story of the way our families shape our lives, from the award-winning author of HAMNET. It was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller 2004 and won the Somerset Maugham Award.On a cold February afternoon, Stella catches sight of a man she hasn't seen for many years, but instantly recognises. Or thinks she does. At the same moment on the other side of the globe, in the middle of a crowd of Chinese New Year revellers, Jake realises that things are becoming dangerous.They know nothing of one another's existence, but both Stella and Jake flee their lives: Jake in search of a place so remote it doesn't appear on any map, and Stella for a destination in Scotland, the significance of which only her sister, Nina, will understand.

From the bestselling, critically acclaimed author of HAMNET and I AM, I AM, I AM, comes an intense, breathtakingly accomplished story of a woman's life stolen, and reclaimed. 'Unputdownable' Ali SmithEdinburgh in the 1930s. The Lennox family is having trouble with its youngest daughter. Esme is outspoken, unconventional, and repeatedly embarrasses them in polite society. Something will have to be done.Years later, a young woman named Iris Lockhart receives a letter informing her that she has a great-aunt in a psychiatric unit who is about to be released.Iris has never heard of Esme Lennox and the one person who should know more, her grandmother Kitty, seems unable to answer Iris's questions. What could Esme have done to warrant a lifetime in an institution? And how is it possible for a person to be so completely erased from a family's history?

A story of a dysfunctional but deeply loveable family reunited, set during the legendary summer of 1976, INSTRUCTIONS FOR A HEATWAVE by Maggie O'Farrell was shortlisted for the 2013 Costa Novel Award and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller (2013).It's July 1976. In London, it hasn't rained for months, gardens are filled with aphids, water comes from a standpipe, and Robert Riordan tells his wife Gretta that he's going round the corner to buy a newspaper. He doesn't come back. The search for Robert brings Gretta's children - two estranged sisters and a brother on the brink of divorce - back home, each with different ideas as to where their father might have gone. None of them suspects that their mother might have an explanation that even now she cannot share.