From the author of Room. A novel based on the true story of two girls who fall secretly, deeply, and dangerously in love at boarding school in 19th century York.
Donoghue is among the most fearless contemporary novelists we have: an immensely talented writer who is a great storyteller and, based on her extensive body of work, unafraid of subjects that give her less-courageous peers pause ... A fascinating story set at an English girls school in 1805 and — wait for it — what we once called an insane asylum in 1815. It has characters with complex internal lives, insights into the human soul, and a wrenching love story that’s both queer and multiracial ... My one quibble with the novel (and it’s a small one) is that Donoghue shares a lot of her research into the routines of school life in the 19th century, and those rituals slow the tale. But this is a small objection. Donoghue offers what I am sure Lister herself would view as a ripping good spin on her remarkable story.
Everything about the spellbinding Learned by Heart strikes me as nearly perfect ... Gorgeously rendered ... The result is even more masterful because of the seeming ease with which it combines the lyrically imagined with the painstakingly researched ... Remarkable.
