The Painter's Daughters

A moving exploration of the familial ties that bind us and the grief of a life half-lived . . . a wonderful debut that lingered with me

Elizabeth Macneal, author of THE DOLL FACTORY

A thoughtful and thought-provoking debut novel that brings to life the daughters of painter Thomas Gainsborough. Emily Howes is a talented writer who vividly evokes Regency England but doesn't shy away from exploring how its glittering society could constrain and threaten young women. An engaging and enjoyable mix of historical fact and beautifully-imagined fiction

Joanna Quinn, author of THE WHALEBONE THEATRE

A wonderfully powerful and haunting novel about sisterly love, art and betrayal, with a hugely gripping plot. I absolutely loved it

Deborah Moggach, author of TULIP FEVER

A feast for the senses and the joy of a story well told - a beautiful debut

Jo Browning Wroe, author of A TERRIBLE KINDNESS

I loved The Painter's Daughters - a vivid, sad, beautiful novel about sisters

Amy Key, author of ARRANGEMENTS IN BLUE

My favourite kind of storytelling: vividly imagined and exquisitely brought to the page. I loved The Painter's Daughters for its freshness, its tenderness and its robust humour. It beautifully captures a child coming to terms with the adult world and the extraordinary bond that can exist between sisters. I adored it, and know it will stay with me for a very long time

Rachel Joyce, author of THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY

A deeply touching tale of two sisters that probes the difference between love and self-sacrifice. Fascinating

Priscilla Morris, author of BLACK BUTTERFLIES

A beautiful, moving and full-blooded novel that explores powerful questions about madness, art and love and brings unseen lives to the fore . . . I loved seeing the Gainsborough girls brought out of the canvas and into the messy real world, and the portrait of the artist himself in all his loving, faithless complexity

Kate Murray-Browne, author of THE UPSTAIRS ROOM

A brilliant novel . . . the writing is sublime. It is like being transported back in time. I didn't want the story to end. If you enjoyed Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet, you'll love this

Karen Angelico, author of EVERYTHING WE ARE

A mesmerising and at times quietly devastating tale of two sisters, art, shared suffering and love. With The Painter's Daughters, Emily Howes has pulled off the finest of balancing acts, combining rich and evocative historical detail with a light and contemporary writerly touch

Chloë Ashby, author of WET PAINT

Beautifully written, confidently told and vivid in every detail, The Painter's Daughters was both a pleasure to read and broke my heart

Russell Franklin, author of THE BROKEN PLACES

In the tradition of Maggie O'Farrell and Tracy Chevalier, Emily Howes brings us the story of Thomas Gainsborough's two daughters, Molly and Margaret, whom she imagines were equal parts muse and millstone for the famed eighteenth-century portrait painter. Howes' thorough research and exquisite prose brings both girls to life, but it is the author's deep understanding of mental illness and how it affects families that sets the novel apart. Emily Howes is a true talent, and I did not want this book to end

Rachel Beanland, author of THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE

A delicately painted story of the two Gainsborough sisters, their lives as intricately entwined as a silken spiderweb. I adored it

Polly Crosby, author of VITA AND THE BIRDS

I loved this debut. An exquisite, absorbing story of sisterly love, buried secrets and the bids we make to live freely. The lives of the Gainsborough sisters, in Emily Howes's beautiful prose, captivated me

Sarah Marsh, author of A SIGN OF HER OWN

A fantastic debut . . . The Painter's Daughters is a beautiful, heartbreaking, stunningly perceptive read about love and art, hope and expectation. And so gripping too - I devoured it

Caroline Lea, author of THE GLASS WOMAN

A marvellous novel, up there with some of my favourite works of historical fiction. Emily Howes' evocation of the Gainsborough sisters' relationship is truly remarkable and the novel is a sensory delight, full of evocative descriptions that bring the past to life. I loved it

Whitney Scharer, author of THE AGE OF LIGHT

The novel shines when it comes to the spooky duality of portraits, of sisterhood, of private and public faces . . . The Painter's Daughters is convincing, engaging, transporting

Guardian

This richly detailed historical novel from an exciting debut writer beautifully tells the story of the daughters of society painter Thomas Gainsborough

Red

A historical novel that weaves fact and fiction into a haunting novel of love, madness and family secrets . . . an incredible first novel that'll leave you scouring the real-life paintings for clues

Stylist

Fascinating

Washington Post

Sibling bonds, arts and artifice, mental illness and marriage twine together in a story that was inspired by Gainsborough's portrait of his daughters, Peggy and Molly. Plunged into Bath polite society, their closeness is thrown into confusion as Peggy falls in love and Molly's illness threatens incarceration in an asylum

Daily Mail

An illuminating read and an important look at views on mental health in the 18th century

Woman and Home

Inspired by the daughters of artist Thomas Gainsborough, this historical fiction debut is perfect for fans of Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet

Prima

You may never view a Gainsborough in quite the same way again after reading Howes's debut novel, which creates a web of secrets and scandals out of the painter's home life . . . riveting

Telegraph

A sad, insightful, illuminating read

Woman

Howes writes so knowledgeably on everything from Georgian pigments to the tensions of sisterly love . . . the novel shines when it comes to the spooky duality of portraits, of sisterhood, of private and public faces . . . convincing, engaging, transporting.

Guardian

Drawn with writerly flair

New York Times, Best New Historical Fiction

A satisfying tale of the complicated, and poignant, ties that bind

New Statesman

A sad and insightful reimagining of the lives of Gainsborough's daughters

Woman’s Weekly