A Sign of Her Own

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What to expect

An empowering story of a young woman's journey to accepting her deaf identity, exploring the hidden history of the deaf community in the invention of the telephone

Ellen Lark is on the verge of marriage when she and her fiancé receive an unexpected visit from Alexander Graham Bell.

While her fiancé is eager to make a potentially lucrative acquaintance, Ellen knows what Bell really wants from her. Ellen is deaf, and for a time was Bell's student in a technique called Visible Speech. As he instructed her in speaking, Bell also confided in her about his dream of producing a device which would transmit the human voice along a wire: the telephone. Now, on the cusp of wealth and renown, Bell wants Ellen to speak up in support of his claim to the patent to the telephone, which is being challenged by rivals.

But Ellen has a different story to tell: that of how Bell betrayed her, and other deaf pupils, in pursuit of ambition and personal gain, and cut Ellen off from a community in which she had come to feel truly at home. It is a story no one around Ellen seems to want to hear - but there may never be a more important time for her to tell it.

A Sign of Her Own offers a fascinating window onto a hidden moment in history, and a portrait of a young deaf woman's journey to find her place in the world, and her own authentic voice.

(P) 2024 Headline Publishing Group Ltd

Critics Review

An exquisite portrayal of the lonely dislocation of being deaf in a hearing world
The Times
An accomplished debut that excellently conveys the experience of being deaf in a hearing world. A Sign of Her Own gives a fascinating insight into a moment in history when the invention of the telephone was poised to connect countless people, yet deaf communities were being silenced by a movement against the use of sign language. Beautifully written, absorbing and illuminating.
Priscilla Morris, author of BLACK BUTTERFLIES
An enrapturing read about betrayal, community, speaking out and being heard
iPaper
Marsh's fine book conveys Ellen and Bell's dynamic superbly
Observer
Not since reading Helen Keller's A Story of My Life have I read such an evocative description on what it is like to be deaf. Sarah Marsh's A Sign of Her Own is a passionate and uncompromising story of the difficulties Deaf people face, and it doesn't shy away from the sometimes challenging politics of Deafness and Deaf Community.
Laura Shepperson, author of THE HEROINES
Sarah Marsh pulls off the difficult feat of showing the hearing reader how it feels to be deaf, in a fascinating and moving historical novel that cleverly intertwines history and fiction. Beautifully written, it stayed in my mind long after the last page was turned
Frances Quinn, author of THAT BONESETTER WOMAN and THE SMALLEST MAN
An absorbing depiction of a turning point in history, and a young deaf woman's discoveries within it
Margaret Meyer, author of THE WITCHING TIDE
Beautifully written and original, A Sign of Her Own shines a light into a hidden corner of history. Ellen Lark's story is one that will resonate with anyone who has struggled to fit in. A fantastic novel.
Louise Hare, author of THIS LOVELY CITY and MISS ALDRIDGE REGRETS
Absolutely brilliant. An important story, so beautifully told. Ellen Lark is unforgettable
Emilia Hart, author of WEYWARD
This ambitious debut movingly conveys the isolated world of the deaf
Daily Mail
A beautifully written tale of a woman's quest to find her own place in the world, and have her own voice heard; elegant, eloquent, and passionate
Naomi Kelsey, author of THE BURNINGS
Fascinating, thoughtful and thought-provoking. It's about ambition and community, betrayal and friendship, language and culture, and how good intentions can be deeply harmful. It's pacy, atmospheric, tense and intriguing and unfurls so so very beautifully. Magnificent. Can't wait to read whatever she writes next
Liz Hyder, author of THE GIFTS
A vivid, tender exploration of language and its power. In A Sign of Her Own, Sarah Marsh draws us into a hidden world of silence, capturing in the process something fundamental about our longing to be understood
Emily Howes, author of THE PAINTER'S DAUGHTERS
A fascinating, sensitive and beautifully written exploration of deaf identity, the isolation of the non-hearing, and the way deaf people have been treated in the past
Anna Mazzola, author of THE CLOCKWORK GIRL
Marsh's debut is an astonishing achievement, delving readers into the mind of a woman who lives in silence but whose mind bursts with a fierce intelligence and wit. A sobering look at the way people with disabilities were treated in the past, as well as an inside view of one of the greatest scientific achievements of our time. Remarkable
Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of THE SPECTACULAR
In this ambitious debut, Sarah Marsh paints a landscape of history that is unforgettable. Through the eyes of a deaf woman, we experience the isolation, confusion, and victories of living in a world of silence, while being given a story of one of the greatest scientists of our time. A triumph!
Serena Burdick, bestselling author of THE STOLEN BOOK OF EVELYN AUBREY

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