Catherine Cookson would not have been ashamed to have her name on this seasonal wartime saga. Readers will love heroine Mary O'Connor

A poignant and mesmerising story of tragedy and triumph from the author of The Stanford Lasses

This charming tale will be perfect for when you want to escape the festive preparations

One of the country's most popular storytellers

Beautifully observed . . . [Anshaw] intimately dissects how one event or choice can alter the trajectory of a life, how a fork in the road can lead to wholly unexpected and divergent outcomes

A funny, vivid and pingingly true story about longing and the pain of love. Anshaw conveys beefy emotions and life-changing events with the most gossamer of touches

Carol Anshaw is one of those authors who should be a household name . . . [a] fine, eloquent novel

Superb . . . [Anshaw] has a knack for capturing a personality in a single phrase

Moving and engaging . . . Anshaw has written not only a funny, smart and closely observed story, but also one that explores the way tragedy can follow hard on celebration, binding people together even more lastingly than passion.

Words used to praise Anshaw's earlier novels - witty, warm, intimate, poignant - apply equally well to her most compelling book yet, a wholly seductive tale of siblings, addiction, conviction, and genius . . . Masterful in her authenticity, quicksilver dialogue, wise humour, and receptivity to mystery, Anshaw has created a deft and transfixing novel of fallibility and quiet glory

A brilliant feat of storytelling . . . one of the most intensely vibrant novels I've ever read

Here's passion and addiction, guilt and damage, all the beautiful mess of family life. Carry the One will lift readers off their feet and bear them along on its eloquent tide

Splendid . . . sits somewhere between a Jonathan Franzen novel and a collection of haiku

Funny, touching, knowing . . . a quiet, lovely, genuine accomplishment

Anshaw is that rare, brilliant, witty writer whose prose is rich and buttery, and whose plotting is as well-conceived and seamlessly executed as that of the most intricate thriller

If you love Jonathan Franzen, you'll love this compelling book

Graceful and compassionate . . . Writing with rueful wit and a subtle understanding of the currents and passions that rule us, Anshaw demonstrates that struggling to do one's best, whatever the circumstances, makes for a life of consequence

A fine novel . . . stunning . . . wise

Anshaw submerges the reader in gorgeous detail

Carol Anshaw's writing is cool and funny, outraged and sympathetic by turns. The book is full of sharp observations and memorable phrases

Beautiful prose

Beautiful prose

A series of beautifully detailed snapshots . . . an arresting examination of three intersecting lives, forcefully told