Book review: The Ballroom

AN asylum on the Yorkshire Moors in the first decades of the twentieth century is the setting for Anna Hope’s magnificent second novel, The Ballroom, the follow-up to her impressive debut of last year, Wake.

Anna Hope

Doubleday, £12.99;

ebook, £7.99

Review: Jade Craddoc

Segregation, discipline and restraint are the order of the day for residents at Sharston Asylum.

In the women’s building, newcomer Ella has to adjust to the strict confinement of daily life as she dreams of escape.

But there are only three ways out: sanity, escape or death.

Across the way, the men fare only slightly better, allowed outside to dig graves or work the land. But for John, it’s a respite from his past.

Anna Hope has proven once again that she is a luminary in historical fiction. Writing history from the margins, the personal stories behind the era, she delivers profound, poignant narratives that stir the emotions.

The love story is simply magnificent, but it is the backdrop to it all that is so fascinating. If you thought Anna Hope’s debut was good, this is even better.