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Hold Back the Night

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What to expect

'ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE' KATE SAWYER
'WILL GET UNDER YOUR SKIN AND LODGE ITSELF IN YOUR HEART' ERIN KELLY
'HEARTBREAKING AND LIFE-AFFIRMING' LOUISE HARE
'POWERFUL, TIMELY, IMPORTANT' BETH UNDERDOWN
"BEAUTIFUL, COMPLEX AND MOVING' PLATINUM MAGAZINE
'POWERFUL AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING' RED
'I URGE EVERYONE TO READ THIS NOVEL' ERICKA WALLER
'THESE CHARACTERS WILL WRAP AROUND YOUR HEART' ARAMINTA HALL

From the Observer debut novelist of the year, comes a blistering, heart-wrenching new novel of complicity and atonement, delving into one nurse's experience of the little-known history of conversion therapy and the heart-breaking betrayal of the AIDS crisis.

March 2020. Annie is alone in her house as the world shuts down, only the ghosts of her memories for company. But then she receives a phone call which plunges her deeper into the past.

1959. Annie and Rita are student nurses at Fairlie Hall mental hospital. Working long, gruelling hours, they soon learn that the only way to appease their terrifying matron is to follow the rules unthinkingly. But what is happening in the hospital's hidden side wards? And at what point does following the rules turn into complicity - and betrayal?

1983. Annie is reeling from the loss of her husband and struggling to face raising her daughter alone. Following a chance encounter, she offers a sick young man a bed for the night, a good deed that soon leads to another. Before long, she finds herself entering a new life of service - her home a haven for those who are cruelly shunned. But can we ever really atone?

The powerful and captivating new novel from the celebrated author of KEEPER and YOUNG WOMEN, HOLD BACK THE NIGHT is Jessica Moor's most powerful and commercial book to date. A darkly compelling character-led novel, drawing on themes of complicity and betrayal, it is bursting with talking points and absolutely perfect for reading groups.

Praise for HOLD BACK THE NIGHT and Jessica Moor:

'The literary sensation . . . heart-breaking' My Weekly

'Absolutely incredible. Intricate, heart-breaking, with perfect prose and characterisation. This is an author stepping into her power and it is a privilege to behold' Kate Sawyer, Costa shortlisted author of The Stranding and This Family

'Beautifully written and authentic, this novel shines an unflinching light on the darkest episodes of recent medical history. Hold Back The Night will get under your skin and lodge itself in your heart' Erin Kelly

'Powerful, at times gut-wrenching' Peter Tatchell

'Heart-breaking and life-affirming in equal measure. Dealing with the horrors of conversion therapy in the 1950s and the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, this is a story of redemption and hope as much as it is grief and shame. I absolutely loved it' Louise Hare

'Jessica Moor is a new young writer I believe in' Jeanette Winterson

'Heartbreaking and beautifully written' Heather Darwent

'A shocking, vital story that will never let you go. I urge everyone to read this novel. Jessica does not flinch away from the themes in this book, but writes with purposeful intent. She does not linger on the suffering, but shines a light on hope. An outstanding achievement' Ericka Waller

'Hold back the Night is a book about fear and power, the stories we tell ourselves and the people we hope to be. Beautiful and lyrical, these characters will wrap around your heart. I loved it' Araminta Hall

Critics Review

Beautifully written and authentic, this novel shines an unflinching light on the darkest episodes of recent medical history. Hold Back The Night will get under your skin and lodge itself in your heart
Erin Kelly
Absolutely incredible. Intricate, heart-breaking, with perfect prose and characterisation. This is an author stepping into her power and it is a privilege to behold
Kate Sawyer, Costa shortlisted author of The Stranding
Jessica Moor is a new young writer I believe in
Jeanette Winterson
Based on fact, this powerful, at times gut-wrenching, novel shines a light on the horrors of the UK medical abuse of gay men pre-1975 and their neglect during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s
Peter Tatchell
Heart-breaking and life-affirming in equal measure. Dealing with the horrors of conversion therapy in the 1950s and the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, this is a story of redemption and hope as much as it is grief and shame. I absolutely loved it
Louise Hare
Heartbreaking and beautifully written
Heather Darwent, author of The Things We Do To Our Friends
Powerful, timely, important. This beautiful novel follows Annie, who's spent her life as a nurse, as one pandemic brings back the ghosts of another. It's about a particular kind of evil, the possibility of making amends, and above all - for me - love and connection
Beth Underdown
Visceral, heart-wrenching . . . Beautiful, complex and moving
Platinum magazine
Powerful and thought-provoking
Red magazine
A shocking, vital story that will never let you go. I urge everyone to read this novel. Jessica does not flinch away from the themes in this book, but writes with purposeful intent. She does not linger on the suffering, but shines a light on hope. An outstanding achievement
Ericka Waller

User Reviews

Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
5.0
5.0
A really moving book, I'd thoroughly recommend it. I was too young to realise what was happening to gay men in the 1980's, but I do remember the gravestone advert on the TV and hiw scared everyone was about HIV and AIDS. This book puts things around that time into perspective. I'd highly recommend it.
ClareR 19/05/2024

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