Letters to Eloise is the incredibly warm, witty, poignant and heart-wrenching debut epistolary novel by bestselling author Emily Williams; a love story of misunderstandings, loss, and betrayal but ultimately the incredible bond between mother and child.
‘Receiving a hand written letter is something that always puts a smile on my face, no matter who the sender is.’ Flora Tierney.
When post-graduate student Flora falls unexpectedly pregnant during her final year studies she hits a huge predicament; continue a recent affair with her handsome but mysterious lecturer who dazzles her with love letters taken from the ancient tale of ‘Abelard and Heloise’, or chase after the past with her estranged first love?
But will either man be there to support her during the turmoil ahead?
‘Banish me, therefore, for ever from your heart’, Abelard to Heloise.
My Thoughts:
I was delighted to be approached directly by the Author to read Letters to Eloise. I particularly like reading books in Epistolary format, some of my favourite books are written this way. One of the concerns I had when agreeing to read this book though was whether the plot would resonate with me, I don't have children and writing letters to an unborn child might be something that I would find hard to picture doing. However I was utterly absorbed by this book and I think that anybody that has a heart would be too.
Flora is in her final year of University, she has lots of plans for her future and at the time that didn't involve having a baby. She finds herself in a difficult position, with little support. Although she struck me as a lady with a fierce independence and great strength of character. She knows one thing, she wants to keep her baby and she is going to love it. As I said previously the book is written in the form of letters to her baby and each chapter starts off with a measurement of how much it has grown. The letters were poignant and emotive and were the perfect vessel to show the reader the varying degrees of love. A love between a mother and child. A love between partners, and finally the love that only comes along once in a lifetime. It also allowed Flora some calm in her live through the turmoil and kept her grounded when all around her was in chaos.
This story is wonderfully and skilfully written, by the end my heart was just about torn out. I did not anticipate how all the characters lives turned out. The Author has written the book with a great deal of skill and an emotional depth to the characters. Certainly one to read with tissues and a writer to watch in the future for sure. An assured debut.
I was delighted to be approached directly by the Author to read Letters to Eloise. I particularly like reading books in Epistolary format, some of my favourite books are written this way. One of the concerns I had when agreeing to read this book though was whether the plot would resonate with me, I don't have children and writing letters to an unborn child might be something that I would find hard to picture doing. However I was utterly absorbed by this book and I think that anybody that has a heart would be too.
Flora is in her final year of University, she has lots of plans for her future and at the time that didn't involve having a baby. She finds herself in a difficult position, with little support. Although she struck me as a lady with a fierce independence and great strength of character. She knows one thing, she wants to keep her baby and she is going to love it. As I said previously the book is written in the form of letters to her baby and each chapter starts off with a measurement of how much it has grown. The letters were poignant and emotive and were the perfect vessel to show the reader the varying degrees of love. A love between a mother and child. A love between partners, and finally the love that only comes along once in a lifetime. It also allowed Flora some calm in her live through the turmoil and kept her grounded when all around her was in chaos.
This story is wonderfully and skilfully written, by the end my heart was just about torn out. I did not anticipate how all the characters lives turned out. The Author has written the book with a great deal of skill and an emotional depth to the characters. Certainly one to read with tissues and a writer to watch in the future for sure. An assured debut.
About the Author:
Emily Williams lives by the seaside in West Sussex with her family and a menagerie of small pets. After graduating from Sussex University with a BA in Psychology, Emily trained as a primary school teacher and teaches in a local school. Letters to Eloise is her debut novel.
Find Emily on Twitter: @EmilyRMWilliams
No comments:
Post a Comment