Published February 12th, 2026 by Northodox Press
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemprory Fiction
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
Lincolnshire, 1914. As the First World War approaches, three women are living, trapped between the unforgiving marsh, the wide, relentless river, and the isolation of the fen.
Their lives are held fast by profound grief, haunted by the spectres of the past. Trapped by the looming presence and eerie stillness of a hospital that has never admitted a single patient.
Eleanor longs to escape. To make a life with the man she loves, leaving her sister, and all her ghosts behind. Clara’s marriage is crumbling and violent and she yearns for peace and security for both herself and her innocent children. Meanwhile, Lily, a formidable force of will, stands resolute against the relentless tide of change. She will stop at nothing, no matter the devastating cost, to ensure that life, and her family, remain frozen in an unyielding embrace of the past.
The author, Rachel Canwell, grew up with the story of this forgotten hospital. Isolated, stocked weekly and cleaned daily but never admitting a single patient. The hospital was real, tended by her family for over sixty years and set against the ethereal beauty and loneliness of the Fens, is the inspiration for her novel.
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MY REVIEW:
Captivating, tense and poignant, this remarkable debut is an unforgettable story of grief, trauma, isolation, love, family and sisterhood. Set in Lincolnshire in 1914, it tells the story of three family members: sisters Eleanor and Lily and their sister-in-law, Clara. Each woman is trapped; by grief, duty or fear. And looming large in the background of it all is the unstoppable advance towards World War I, along with the additional tragedies and trauma that will bring.
The characters in this book are richly drawn and achingly human. Each of the narrators felt so real and it was easy to connect with them from the start. The tension between Eleanor and Lily is immediately apparent, while poor Clara is trapped in a violent marriage. There’s a strong sense of fear, yearning and captivity that fills each of the women: Eleanor longs to leave and start a life with the man she loves, Lily is scared of being alone and will go to any lengths to keep Eleanor with her, and Clara is terrified of her violent husband and longs for a life that is peaceful and safe. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions as they wrestled with life and all its struggles and was rooting for each of them to have a happy ending.
Rachel Canwell has crafted a truly powerful and unforgettable debut novel. The story is based on a real abandoned hospital in the Fens that her family tended for sixty years, though her characters and their stories are fiction. Exquisitely written, she transports her reader back to 1914 and into the lives of these women. There are a number of difficult subjects in the story that Ms. Canwell writes with honesty and sensitivity, putting you firmly in the shoes of those affected by the issues. With evocative descriptions she creates a strong sense of place and there is a constant sense of foreboding that comes in part from the abandoned hospital and unforgiving marsh that loom over everyone and everything. The sense of claustrophobia is palpable, adding to that unnerving feeling and adding a foreboding that keeps you on the edge of your seat, flying through the pages as I approached the finale.
An unforgettable debut that you don’t want to miss.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
Thank you to Rachel and Northodox Press for sending me a proof copy of the book in exchange for my honest review
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rachel Canwell is an author who, having grown up in the Fens, has lived and worked in Cumbria for over twenty years.
Her short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies. Her collection of flash fiction Oh I Do Like to Be was published in 2022 and her novella-in-flash Magpie Moon in 2023.
She co-hosts The Northern Connection; a podcast that celebrates writers and words with links to The North.
Her debut novel Paper Sisters is published at Northodox Press in Feb 2026.
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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx
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