Frieda

Critics Review

• Abbs has a healthy disregard for the “great man” theory of literary history, and this clever and deeply humane book enables Frieda to emerge from her husband’s shadow as she becomes fascinated by ideas of self-fulfilment and empowerment. With a fine eye for period detail, Abbs confirms her standing as one of the best historical novelists today.

  Observer

• Annabel Abbs has done a superb job of chronicling Frieda’s early life . . . Abbs is brilliant at showing the tensions between Frieda’s numbing role as mother to three children, and her desire to live a sensuous, vivid life . . . I adored her

  The Times

• Effervescent . . . a wonderful portrait of an extraordinary woman

  The Times

• A convincing evocation of a remarkable woman

  The Sunday Times

• A lushly written second novel that contrives to be at once mischievous and testing. No reader will think of DH Lawrence in quite the same way again . . . Frieda emerges as a woman at once scandalously out of step with the #MeToo movement and wholly herself and it is this contradiction that gives Abbs’s exuberant novel its compelling charge

  Observer

• A lush and absorbing portrait of a fascinating woman who refused to compromise on what really matters: to be known, to love, to be beloved. She, and all those connected with her, live and breathe in Abbs’s beautifully crafted novel

  Polly Clark, author of LARCHFIELD

• A sharp new novel … She emerges as a warm, intelligent woman in this nuanced, layered portrait

  Mail on Sunday

• A compassionately imagined tale

  Daily Mail

• A brilliant example of its genre … Frieda is hard to put down thanks to its heroine’s audacity and strength

  Stylist

• When she meets the young writer, D. H. Lawrence, she falls so passionately in love that she gives up everything in order to be with him . . . the true and fascinating story of the real-life inspiration for Lady Chatterley’s Lover

  Red

• Abbs succeeds in portraying Frieda as a true bohemian and the themes of gender, identity and class are as poignant here as they were in Lawrence’s novel. An important book with a strong narrative, it offers an insight into a woman’s psyche and the many roles she played in society, in the home, and as a literary muse. An incredible piece of storytelling.

  The Lady

• The fascinating life of Frieda von Richthofen, wife of D.H. Lawrence and inspiration for Lady Chatterley’s Lover

  Good Housekeeping

• In her first novel, The Joyce Girl, Annabel Abbs explored life in the shadows of literary fame. In her second, we are again in the sphere of early 20th-century literature, but with a very different protagonist who left her echoes in the often controversial works of D. H. Lawrence . . . Frieda is an extraordinary woman who incites remarkable passions in the men who love her . . the narrative is both skilful and restrained throughout. Another absolutely superb novel from Annabel Abbs.

  Historical Novel Society

• I loved it.

  Clare Clarke, author of In the Full Light of the Sun

• Another superbly written biographical novel by an author who probes deep into her characters’ lives in a way that makes them instantly accessible . . . Rush out and buy Frieda as soon as the shops are open.

  Sussex Express

• An enticing and well-constructed story that is also a fine study of Edwardian social mores, female sexuality and political awakening. Frieda’s struggle to find her place in the world — balancing the love for her children with wanting to break free of stifling social constructs — is utterly compelling and also feels relevant to a modern audience. Glorious!

  The Reading Agency

• Frieda’s complex character is brought vividly to life, while the underlying debates about feminism and the nature of emancipation still resonate today.

  Hexham Courant

• A compelling story . . . Abbs’ book brilliantly conveys the turmoil and anguish her choice (if indeed she felt she had any choice) caused Frieda, and recreates her complex, tumultuous inner world with skill, empathy and a refreshing lack of judgement.

  Viva Lewes

• Poignant . . . Abbs’ novel emphasises Frieda’s own sense of being a person in continual construction

  The Australian

• Frieda really is an outstanding novel . . . glorious, vivid and immersive

  Theresa Smith Writes blog

• A read that combines literary research with a skill for creating a fascinating narrative, Frieda breathes new life to a literary figure, and sheds new light on a literary classic. Fascinating, beautifully written and hugely gripping, it’s a read that has changed my understanding of D.H. Lawrence, and comes highly recommended

  The Bookbag

• A picture of a woman . . . with a very open and naive heart, searching for something, yet never really finding her true “self” . . . a multi-faceted novel that drew me in and took me on quite a journey.

  Trip Fiction