«Part social commentary, part mystery and part dangerous liaison, this poignant story casts an unflinching gaze at the historic treatment of mental health disorders.»

Financial Times

«Such a magnificent setting definitely demands a story that delivers, all guns blazing. It does, and then some . . . Fiction at it’s finest.»

Irish Independent

«Beautiful»

Stylist

«An exquisite love story»

Good Housekeeping

«A terrifying, moving and uplifting story»

February Hot Read, Woman and Home

«A poignant against-the-odds love story»

Glamour

«Tender . . . Hope is the emotion that unspools the delicate connections between these brilliantly drawn characters»

Psychologies Magazine

«The Ballroom is a beautifully wrought novel, a tender, heartbreaking and insightful exploration of the longings that survive in the most inhospitable environments.»

Sunday Express 5/5 stars

«Magnificent…a luminary of historical fiction…writing history from the margins, the personal stories behind the era, she delivers profound, poignant stories that stir the emotions.»

Press Association

«The Ballroom is a beautiful, gripping, heart-wrenching, thought-provoking book. I was so enthralled, I read it in an evening, unwilling to put it down.»

thewritesofwoman.wordpress.com

«An atmospheric and thought provoking love story»

bookslifeandeverything.blogspot.co.uk

«An unsentimental and affecting story»

Sunday Times

«Absolutely heart-breaking. One of the best books I’ve ever read»

Dinah Jefferies, author of THE TEA-PLANTER'S WIFE

«A British version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Moving. Fascinating»

Times

«Compelling, elegant and insightful.»

Observer

«In this deeply moving book, Hope reminds us that behind everyone’s facade lies something waiting to be rent free»

Irish Times

«An original, brilliant, evocative novel»

Chris Cleave

«A heartbreaking story of how love can flourish in the darkest of times»

Cathy Rentzenbrink, The Bookseller

«All the intensity and lyricism of Hope’s debut, Wake»

Daily Mail

«The Ballroom confirms her as a novelist of immense power...Exquisitely good. Sensitive, engrossing and highly recommended»

Metro