Books by Elizabeth Lowry
The Chosen
by Elizabeth Lowry
☆ Shortlisted for the 2023 Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction
In The Chosen, Elizabeth Lowry examines—by way of historical fiction, drawn from fact—the troubled marriage of Thomas Hardy and his wife Emma. After Emma's death in 1912, Hardy read her diaries recording their years together; their contents, the story they told about their dissolving partnership, disturbed him so much that he burned them. "Combining meticulous research with a poet’s imagination, Lowry gives voice to both Hardy and to his downtrodden wife," said the judges of the 2023 Walter Scott Prize. "The result is an extraordinary work, full of tenderness and unexpected humour. It’s a portrait of a marriage gone wrong and an investigation into the grammar of grief. Along the way, we consider the parasitic relationship art can have with life, and the transcendent power of love."
Interviews where books by Elizabeth Lowry were recommended
The Best Historical Fiction: The 2023 Walter Scott Prize Shortlist, recommended by Cal Flyn
Every year, the judges for the Walter Scott Prize highlight the best new historical fiction. In 2023, the shortlisted books include a slow-burn mystery set in colonial Australia and a thrilling new novel from the author of Fatherland. Cal Flyn, our deputy editor, takes us through the seven books that are set 60+ years in the past and yet speak to the present.
