The Hidden Heart Of Emily Hudson

Dear Mr Cornford, It is with regret that I begin the task of writing to you about your niece, Emily. Her recent behaviour, which I have outlined to you in previous letters, compels me to request that she be formally removed from the school and returned to your care with immediate effect . . .

And so Emily Hudson, niece and ward, is dispatched into the care of her distant and cold uncle, to take residence at the family s Newport beach house at the outbreak of the Civil War. She is an orphan, the sole member of her family not claimed by consumption. In that first lonely summer, it is Emily s cousin William - himself an outsider - who is her saviour. Her spirit and vibrancy are at odds with the stilted climate of American society: a woman should be a paragon of virtue, definitely not an aspiring painter with no fortune to speak of. William s friendship offers Emily the chance to escape to London to pursue her dreams, but his patronage soon turns darker and more controlling. And as Emily s health falters, she turns to some rather unsuitable means to find the release she craves . . .

“'My favourite book in a long while: a spellbinding tale that manages to be both literary and romantic. The language is pitch perfect, the heroine marvellously alive and full of hope and heartbreak. I didn't want it to end.' Julia Gregson, author of East of the Sun'Melissa Jones has created a passionate and beguiling story, yet one that is so delicate that I felt at times I was leaning over her troubled heroine's shoulder, prying into her intimate letters. It is wonderfully rich and elegantly written. A touching portrait of insecurities and misunderstandings that brings a vanished period to life.' Kate Furnivall, author of The Russian Concubine”

My favourite book in a long while: a spellbinding tale that manages to be both literary and romantic. The language is pitch perfect, the heroine marvellously alive and full of hope and heartbreak. I didn't want it to end. - Julia Gregson, author of East of the Sun

Melissa Jones has created a passionate and beguiling story, yet one that is so delicate that I felt at times I was leaning over her troubled heroine's shoulder, prying into her intimate letters. It is wonderfully rich and elegantly written. A touching portrait of insecurities and misunderstandings that brings a vanished period to life. - Kate Furnivall, author of The Russian Concubine

I loved The Hidden Heart of Emily Hudson; an elegant, persuasive and engrossing novel. - Fay Weldon

Melissa Jones was born in London and now lives in Essex with her husband and two children. This is her third novel.

Dear Mr Cornford, It is with regret that I begin the task of writing to you about your niece, Emily. Her recent behaviour, which I have outlined to you in previous letters, compels me to request that she be formally removed from the school and returned to your care with immediate effect . . . And so Emily Hudson, niece and ward, is dispatched into the care of her distant and cold uncle, to take residence at the family s Newport beach house at the outbreak of the Civil War. She is an orphan, the sole member of her family not claimed by consumption. In that first lonely summer, it is Emily s cousin William - himself an outsider - who is her saviour. Her spirit and vibrancy are at odds with the stilted climate of American society: a woman should be a paragon of virtue, definitely not an aspiring painter with no fortune to speak of. William s friendship offers Emily the chance to escape to London to pursue her dreams, but his patronage soon turns darker and more controlling. And as Emily s health falters, she turns to some rather unsuitable means to find the release she craves . . .

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