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I was gripped by this fantastic book. Chilling, heart-warming, very well written and researched, this is an unusual novel about Victorian England … it really surprised me.
- Rosie Boycott
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THE PAINTED BRIDGE ...is something special: an intriguing and disturbing tale of the reality of women's lives behind the veil of Victorian respectability, which will have resonance today. It's beautifully written and evoked, too.
- Rachel Hore, Richard & Judy bestselling author of A Gathering Storm
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Wendy Wallace’s novel is an impressive debut, with a captivating heroine and an absorbing storyline. Anna’s experiences as a patient in a Victorian madhouse are well-researched and convincingly presented, Wallace has clearly done her homework on the Victorian attitude to women’s mental health and it’s a compulsive page-turner.
- Catharine Arnold, author of Bedlam
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... a haunting look at women's asylums in 1850s England... Wallace masterfully creates an atmosphere of utter claustrophobia and dread, intermingled with the ever-present horror of the reality of women's minimal rights in the 19th century.
- Publishers Weekly
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A fantastic read... The minor characters were brilliantly drawn and their own individual stories made this book all the more compelling.
- Novelicious
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...an outstanding debut that perceptively explores the power of memory and the tricks it can play on the mind.
- pamreader.blogspot.co.uk
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It's the way that Anna, a fascinating heroine, confronts not only those around her but her own failure to recognise reality that makes THE PAINTED BRIDGE such a powerful book.
- Camden New Journal
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...soft, intricate and languid with a twist in the tale. This is a mesmerising first novel.
- Viv Groskop, Red magazine
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A rich and rewarding read, strong on evocative period detail and atmosphere with a compelling story, elegant writing and very engaging characterization.
- Isabel Costello, on the literary sofa
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I was held, my head and my heart, from the first word to the last.
- Fleur Fisher in her world
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...ripe with viscerally appealing drama but also with important implications. ...subtle and well-considered.
- Meg Kinney, Booklist starred review
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What if you were sent to a mental institution against your will? That’s the premise of Wallace’s gripping new novel, set against the backdrop of Victorian England. As heroine Anna Palmer fights to be released, she begins to question everything she ever thought she knew. A chilling page-turner about the muddy line between sanity and madness.
- Caroline Leavitt, author of Pictures of You
