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Holy Fools
Holy Fools
Jan 11, 2026 10:54 PM

Author:Joanne Harris

Holy Fools

By the bestselling author of Chocolat, international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris, comes a passionate story of love, nuns and witches, set in 17th-century France. Perfect for fans of Victoria Hislop, Fiona Valpy, Maggie O'Farrell and Rachel Joyce.

'Truly sensational... This is a wonderful novel. It draws you in from the very first page' -- SUNDAY EXPRESS

'Hugely enjoyable... Both consoling and wise' -- New Statesman

'With this bold, inventive book, Harris confirms her position as one of Britain's most popular novelists' -- DAILY MAIL

'Stunned, but in a good way' -- ***** Reader review

'Absorbing' -- ***** Reader review

'Keeps you hooked from the start' -- ***** Reader review

'Fabulous' -- ***** Reader review

'A great page-turner' -- ***** Reader review

*******************************************************************************************************

In seventeenth-century France against a backdrop of witch trials, regicide and religious frenzy, Juliette, one-time actress and rope-dancer, seeks refuge with her young daughter in a remote abbey and reinvents herself as Soeur Auguste.

Until a new Abbess is appointed, bringing with her a ghost from Juliette's past - a man she has every reason to fear.

Reviews

Truly sensational... This is a wonderful novel. It draws you in from the very first page

—— Sunday Express

A weird and hugely enjoyable blend of Aldous Huxley's The Devils of Loudon and Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus

—— New Statesman

With this bold, inventive book, Harris confirms her position as one of Britain's most popular novelists... Fans will be delighted by the way this novel complements her earlier works. At the same time, the author's experiments with structure and voice ensure this story is fresh and compelling

—— Daily Mail

Hugely enjoyable... Both consoling and wise

—— Amanda Craig , New Statesman

With this bold, inventive book, Harris confirms her position as one of Britain's most popular novellists... Fresh and compelling

—— Daily Mail

Highly enjoyable

—— Independent on Sunday

Brilliant... An imaginative, colourful page-turner

—— Choice Magazine

Her writing is as wonderful as ever ... You won't be able to tear yourself away

—— Glamour

A compelling blend of murder, lies and revenge. A novel full of intrigue and suspense

—— Waterstone's Book Quarterly

Addictive first novel...this slangy, plosive-packed prose is what makes the book a success...an expert manipulation of syntax keeps things zingy...it is a plus point that the dystopia bears no allegorical weight, thriving purely as an imaginary realm to be taken at face value

—— Sunday Times

This is a darkly funny tale of gangland warfare in Ireland that reads like a fast-paced film

—— Cosmopolitan

It's hilarious and visceral

—— Financial Times

The plot is engrossing, with strong bones, yet sinuous and surprising... Barry plays with words with a manic joy and its this use of language that draws the reader in

—— Time Out

He makes a bold statement, not only about his considerable talent but also his plot to upend the realm of modern Irish literature with a work of such singular scope and voice that it is bound to be the talk of book circles this year and possibly beyond

—— Independent on Sunday

vVolent and bleak and yet somehow full of romance, the driving story and powerful use of language make for a heady experience

—— Erica Wagner , The Times, Books of the Year

Rampaging

—— Sebastian Barry , Guardian, Books of the Year

Knocked me out, big time... The characters are demented but also weirdly familiar; an amazing book altogether

—— Maeve Higgins , Irish Times, Books of the Year

Humour, moxie and a real love of the lingo... A riot of music, gang warfare and a hilarious patois

—— John Butler , Irish Times, Books of the Year

Bohane is a post-apocalyptic, low-tech, dog-eat-dog Irish city - and it's mesmerising. The characters' coarse language is vividly poetic, and there's a peculiar optimism about their lives that comes of living in an atmosphere of heart-stopping brutishness. A unique and fascinating book

—— Claire Looby , Irish Times

The prose flows easily, underpinned with a wry humour that counters the harsh, modern realism

—— Big Issue in the North

A Man of Parts has the lovely, loquacious qualities that typify eccentric wonders such as The War of the Worlds and The History of Mr Polly. David Lodge reminds us that Wells, an imperfect man, is still a worthy witness to his own world and to those worlds that may yet to come.

—— Andrew Tate , Third Way Magazine

Lodge understands the Edwardian literary and political scene extremely well, and traces Wells's entanglements with the louche world of Fabians and free lovers with real intimacy

—— Times Literary Supplement

As protean, elusive but compelling as it's hero, David Lodge's bio-novel about HG Wells breaks all the rules but still grips the reader - like Wells himself

—— Boyd Tonkin , Independent

A wry, racy and absorbing biographical novel

—— Benjamin Evans , Telegraph, Seven Magazine

Lodge knows how to tease the inner man out from behind the historical figure, subjecting Wells to probing interviews throughout the book in which his deeper beliefs and contradictions are laid bare

—— Alastair Mabbot , Herald

This fictionalised version of HG Wells dramatises the author's life, which was full of politics, writing and women

—— Daily Telegraph

David Lodge's HG Wells was both a visionary and a chancer; as arrogant as he was insecure; with as many noble goals as base instincts; a mass of very human contradictions; as Lodge has it, a man of parts

—— Sunday Express
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