Early One Morning - Hardcover

Virginia Baily holds a PhD and MA in English from the University of Exeter. She founded and co-edits Riptide, a short-story journal. She is also the editor of the political series of the Africa Research Bulletin. She lives in Exeter, Devon.

"Utterly breathtaking."―Redbook

"From the broken Jewish ghetto and dusky countryside of occupied Italy during WWII to the bustling Trastevere cafes of Rome in the 1970s, Virginia Baily offers an affecting contemplation of the past, personal identity, and the complexity and diversity of human bonds. Early One Morning is the sort of book you can't put down and then stays with you, like the best of journeys, long after it's finished."―Anne Korkeakivi, author of An Unexpected Guest

"Early One Morning heralds the arrival of an exciting new voice in fiction, with a story that is instantly engaging, and characters that effortlessly lift from the page and are rendered so rich and full that they wrap themselves around you and refuse to let go. Beautifully written and emotionally taut, Virginia Baily's Early One Morning is a powerhouse of a debut."―Jason Hewitt, author of The Dynamite Room

"Early One Morning isn't just an incandescent novel, but the rarest of reading experiences, offering a view both wrenching and luminous of how love pushes us past what we're capable of, and somehow-impossibly-reclaims us when we're long past saving. Utterly magnificent."―Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife

"Wonderful.... I was completely inside it from the first pages, just that delicious (rare) feeling of knowing you're in safe hands, this writer isn't going to make a mess of anything, or forfeit your trust or your belief. It managed to be so witty and dry and true.... Vividly intelligent, gripping and moving and alive."―Tessa Hadley, author of Clever Girl

"As gripping as any thriller.... [and] crammed with the sort of heart-stopping, heart-breaking scenes that brought a lump to the throat of even this jaded reviewer. Really, really good."―Harry Ritchie, Daily Mail (UK)

"A real treat; a beautifully written account of the long consequences of war, set in a richly evoked Rome of the 1970s."―Philip Hensher, Guardian (UK)

"Baily subtly tugs at your heartstrings and by the end of her novel you're likely to be as desperate as the women in Daniele's life to discover his fate."―Sophie Donnelly, Express (UK)

"A powerful tale of the reverberations of one woman's decision to save a child."―Stylist (UK)

"A powerful story of sacrifice, despair and ultimately redemption."―Eithne Farry, Express Online (UK)