Vanessa and Her Sister

Radiantly original. Irrepressible, with charm and brio to spare. Prepare to be dazzled * Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife *
Priya Parmar is a powerful new voice in historical fiction. This novel explores the anguished relationship between the Stephen sisters and provides a new view of the artistic, sensual Bloomsbury world, placing Vanessa Bell at the heart of the story * Philippa Gregory *
Parmar gives truth and definition to the character of a woman whose nature was as elusive as her influence was profound. She has caught the phantom * New York Times Book Review *
A richly compelling and extraordinarily sympathetic portrait … Works astonishingly well, each voice is real and fully realised, but Vanessa’s is resplendent … A fresh perspective on a story that’s already become legend * Independent *
A remarkable achievement … She has had the blessing of Vanessa Bell’s granddaughter and daughter-in-law, and her research has been meticulous. But it’s the central portrait of Vanessa’s emotional life and her journey to a more disillusioned, if pragmatic, self-knowledge, that makes this novel, with its familiar setting, so fresh and compelling * Observer *
Given the pages and pages that Bloomsbury Group members wrote about their lives and loves, it seems almost de trop to add to them, yet Parmar has done so skilfully * Sunday Times *
Her imagined “diaries” of Vanessa Bell, from 1905 to 1911, are a triumph from first to last. She gets the authorial voice spot-on and skewers Virginia Woolf, Vanessa’s sister, in all her ridiculous hauteur * Mail on Sunday *
It’s not often that you wish a book wouldn’t end, but Priya Parmar’s second novel about the relationship between the artist Vanessa Bell and her sister, Virginia Woolf, is so deliciously gossipy (while occasionally wonderfully prurient), and almost too beautifully written, to stop at 339 pages … Parmar brings the players to life in a way that appeals to both the heart and the head * Independent on Sunday *
Immerse yourself in this joyously imagined novel … Superbly controlled and structured, the novel contains a central irony: ‘Vanessa’ writes like an angel. Bravo * Daily Mail *
You don’t need a deep knowledge of the Bloomsbury group to appreciate this novel but, if you’re a hardcore Bloomsbury addict (like me), it’s one of the essential reads of the year … It’s biography as fiction, imagined with almost supernatural brilliance. Bliss * The Times *
The Bloomsbury appeal continues … Captivating from beginning to end * Vogue *
Vanessa and Her Sister is an account of my grandmother’s early life, told with faith, elegance and an almost uncanny insight into the subject. But this is also an absorbing work of fiction - and Priya Parmar has made Vanessa’s story her own * Virginia Nicholson, granddaughter of Vanessa Bell and author of Among the Bohemians *
A perfect balance of granite and rainbow * Frances Wilson, Times Literary Supplement, Books of the Year 2015 *
‘Anyone who finds Virginia Woolf’s life story just as fascinating as her novels will relish Priya Parmar’s Vanessa and Her Sister ... Beautifully and sympathetically done, without being sentimental’ * Sunday Herald, Book of the Year 2015 *