A captivating fable of truth and memory

A shining example of historical literary fiction... Nothing less than literary pyrotechnics...a dazzingly elegant novel steeped in the rich detail of the period

Clare Clark is one of those writers who can see into the past and help us feel its texture

A stirring and seductive novel

[A] beautifully crafted piece of Victoriana…a satisfying blend of period melodrama and psychological sharpness

A distinctive portrait of Victorian London... Clark very delicately spins out the parallels with today

A wonderfully observed novel which explores both the role of women and the tabloid press in Victoria's jubilee year. Completely gripping

Sentences that are so lush, so beautifully finished, that one almost wants to stroke her prose

A hugely entertaining and generous piece of story-telling

Clark works on a large canvas to tell her story and Beautiful Lies is rich in character, event and period detail, but it is the compelling evocation of its heroine’s predicament that stays in the memory

This is a delicious brick of a book, at the high end of historical fiction; immaculately informed, with characters you can’t forget

A meticulously researched and elegantly written novel…

A touching portrayal of a highly unusual marriage

Clark is speaking for herself, and for the power of fiction

Tim Parks’ detailed descriptions will leave you rocking to the thrum of the tracks, and come dotted with his often bizarre but always comical experiences en route

A hybrid of travel and cultural history…and very amusing it is too… Parks has done Lecce and all Italy proud in this eccentric hosanna to railroad locomotion

Italian Ways gracefully tells you an enormous amount about Italy and its trains. Parks is also very funny, a master of the dry aside

Closely observed and often amusing

An entertaining look at Italian railways, the people who run them and the people who travel on them… Wry, thoughtful, funny, serious and cleverly capturing the essence of modern Italy, it is perfect armchair travelling

Truly extraordinary

Tim Parks embarks on his Italian train odyssey with humour, grim patience, and a great novelist’s insight…full of hilarious anecdotes and insight from a true Italophile

An enjoyable and eccentric journey!

Wonderful

Parks is one of the best living writers of English, and this book is so good you don't want it to end

If, like me, you relish Italy, railways and grumbling, this is the most transporting book

A fun, informative and detailed journey