One of our Great Reads you may have missed in 2011.
February 2011 MEGA Book of the Month.
Winner of the Costa Novel Award 2010. Costa Book Awards 2010 Judges' comment: "A powerful story full of dynamic characters, crafted with panache and lyricism."
A gorgeously written story of love and motherhood, this is a tour de force from one of our best loved novelists.
May 2010 Good Housekeeping selection.
The fifth book from the award-winning author of After You’d Gone is another delight, weaving
together the stories of two women who have never met but whose destinies are linked by
secrets, deception and love. Maggie’s skill is to draw the reader into her characters’ lives, while
gradually revealing the relationship that binds them. A compelling portrait of motherhood.
July 2010 Guest Editor Louise Candlish on Maggie O'Farrell...
O’Farrell is an author I’ve come to quite late and have therefore read in the wrong order. This is her newest and most stylish; the writing is spun gold. I love the character of Lexie Sinclair: the way she approaches motherhood, the way she runs her career, the way she treats her men. It’s terribly sad, too, and made me cry.

From the best-selling author of The Vanishing of Esme Lennox comes a spellbinding novel that shows there are no accidents, in life and in love.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
From the best-selling author of The Vanishing of Esme Lennox comes a spellbinding novel that shows there are no accidents, in life and in love. Frustrated with her parents' genteel country life, Lexie Sinclair plans her escape to London. There, she takes up with Innes Kent, a magazine editor who introduces her to the thrilling, underground world of bohemian, postwar Soho.
The Hand That First Held Mine features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Family Drama, Book Club Recommendations, eBooks of the Month, Books of the Month, General Fiction, Fiction, Recommendations
Paperback, Hardback. Not Available.
The Hand That First Held Mine was written by Maggie O'Farrell and published by Mariner Books an imprint of HMH Books
The Hand That First Held Mine has 341 pages