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The Mathematics of Love

by Emma Darwin

The Mathematics of Love Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

In an English country manor, two unlikely souls, divided by time, will be united by tragedy, memory, and love. Teenaged Anna Ware discovers a bundle of letters written in 1819 by a war veteran, and as she unravels his mysteries, she is creating a heartbreaking secret of her own.

Review:

"This debut novel from Charles Darwin's great-great-granddaughter combines fiction, history and family legacy. Having lost a leg at the Battle of Waterloo, Stephen Fairhurst, ensconced at Kersey Hall, is not surprised that Hetty Greenshaw rejects his marriage proposal. But he is caught off guard when he finds he can share his darkest thoughts with Hetty's independent, artistic sister, Lucy Durward, who is fascinated by early attempts at photography. When Lucy accompanies Hetty and Hetty's new husband to Europe, Stephen escorts them around the battlefield where he once fought. Alternating with Stephen and Lucy's tale is the story of 15-year-old Anna Ware, left at Kersey Hall with her Uncle Ray in 1976 while her mother vacations. Uncle Ray has just shut down Kersey Hall School and taken in Anna's grandmother, a cruel drunk. Anna befriends neighbors Eva and Theo, who introduce her to photography and teach her about love. Darwin describes art, photography and warfare in meticulous detail. A gifted observer and novice storyteller, she loses her narrative way focusing on secondary characters (Stephen's mistress, the neglected boy Cecil), but she finds it in Anna's voice, Stephen's story and her portrait of Lucy." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"This debut novel from Charles Darwin's great-great-granddaughter combines fiction, history and family legacy. Having lost a leg at the Battle of Waterloo, Stephen Fairhurst, ensconced at Kersey Hall, is not surprised that Hetty Greenshaw rejects his marriage proposal. But he is caught off guard when he finds he can share his darkest thoughts with Hetty's independent, artistic sister, Lucy Durward, who is fascinated by early attempts at photography. When Lucy accompanies Hetty and Hetty's new husband to Europe, Stephen escorts them around the battlefield where he once fought. Alternating with Stephen and Lucy's tale is the story of 15-year-old Anna Ware, left at Kersey Hall with her Uncle Ray in 1976 while her mother vacations. Uncle Ray has just shut down Kersey Hall School and taken in Anna's grandmother, a cruel drunk. Anna befriends neighbors Eva and Theo, who introduce her to photography and teach her about love. Darwin describes art, photography and warfare in meticulous detail. A gifted observer and novice storyteller, she loses her narrative way focusing on secondary characters (Stephen's mistress, the neglected boy Cecil), but she finds it in Anna's voice, Stephen's story and her portrait of Lucy." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"The strange allure of Emma Darwin's debut novel, 'The Mathematics of Love,' reflects its enigmatic title. If there's anything numerical about our affections, it's higher math than most of us can compute, like the formulas behind snowflakes or hurricanes, and a similar sort of complexity makes this story just as fascinating.

Two very different characters, separated by more than 150 years,... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review)

Review:

"Darwin displays definite literary skills." Booklist

Review:

"Mathematics of Love includes a mere hint of the paranormal. Darwin will be an author to watch." Library Journal

Review:

"These are big, unwieldy themes, but Emma Darwin wrestles with them in such a delicate and subtle way that the book never becomes tedious or self-absorbed....A real achievement." The Times (Uk)

Review:

"Emma Darwin's prose is golden and convincing. This book is an addictive, engaging foray into historical fiction that leaves the reader believing in the art of perspective and the redemptive power of love." Daily Express (Uk)

Review:

"Darwin creates an imaginative language capable of suggesting the quality of the uncanny present in the humblest snapshot." The Independent (Uk)

Review:

"[An] absorbing historical novel of love and war." The Guardian (Uk)

Review:

"Darwin, an impressive first-time novelist, is meticulous...characterisation is achieved with exceedingly fine needlework, tracing deep links between strangers who inhabit the same space at different times: their isolation and sexual vulnerability are both poignant. Darwin is patient with them both." Sydney Morning Herald

Review:

"The bilingual dexterity of this novel is one of its several triumphs as Darwin alternates between the murky moral chaos of the 1970s and the rigid formality of the genteel class in the early 19th century." Washington Post

About the Author

Emma lives with her children in South East London, surrounded by history: there was a Viking fort on the hill behind their house, and down the road is Eltham Palace, where Richard II held his Christmas feasts, and the Courthaulds entertained film stars. And if you ask her, she will admit to being a great-great-granddaughter of Charles Darwin and his wife Emma Wedgwood.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780061140266
Publisher:
Libri
Subject:
General
Author:
Darwin, Emma
Subject:
England
Subject:
Romance - Historical
Subject:
Young women
Subject:
General Fiction
Publication Date:
January 2007
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
406
Dimensions:
9.22x6.58x1.29 in. 1.37 lbs.

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