Merivel

Social, political and physical labyrinth.

Francis Osborne, Evening Standard

Satisfying . . . agreeably sardonic.

Quentin Letts, Daily Mail

Surely one of the most versatile novelists writing today

Daily Express

Vivid, original and always engaging

The Times

Rose Tremain writes comedy that can break your heart

Literary Review

Steps inside the mind of Sir Robert Merivel

Sunday Business Post

Merivel is excellent company. Writing with a mimic’s ear for conversation, whimsical one moment, grave the next, Tremain has an underlying preoccupation here: the last third of live, love and loss, loneliness and vanity

Maggie Fergusson, Intelligent Life

Tremain’s novel experiments continually with light and shade – she expertly paints a picture with three dimensions and real feeling

Lesley McDowall, Scotsman

What ultimately makes the book such a joy is simply being in Merivel’s company. His narration is by turns rueful, comic, despairing and joyful; but it’s always bursting with life, always good-hearted - and always entirely loveable

James Walton, Daily Mail

Merivel offers a rich and satisfying sequel to the bright beginning of Restoration

Lindsay Duguid, Sunday Times

Her feeling for the spirit of the times is triumphant

Charlotte Moore, Spectator

More interesting than all the period decoration is the character of Merivel, a character whom the author has such deep knowledge of. Tremain’s fusion of an engrossing character and the minutiae of another time is a marvel

Lucy Daniel, Daily Telegraph

Tremain's control of her character and her reflective but often dramatic unfolding of events are impressive acts of authorial ventriloquism, in which she gives a nod to the great diarists of that era but carries off her own man's story with wit, grace and originality. There is only to add that, despite the linear storytelling imposed on a journal, she not only effortlessly sustains momentum and mood, but brings the novel to as near a perfect ending as one could wish

Rosemary Goring, Herald

Exuberance is a very hard thing to sustain in a novel… However, Tremain brings it off brilliantly. As one might expect, this is a very funny novel, full of picaresque adventure, hapless accidents and ingeniously wrought slapstick. However, it is also a very moving and beautiful novel. There are passages here which I found myself reading over and over again simply in order to savour them. Merivel: A Man of His Time may have been a long time coming, but it’s been well worth the wait

John Preston, Mail on Sunday

Tremain is particularly good at exploring the nuances of life for the hapless Merivel so that reader empathises with his sense of loneliness and despair. As well as exploring the sensitive side of Merivel’s character we share his intimate thoughts which are often very funny. A beautiful book

We Love This Book

Her characters laugh, cry, plot and flounder so convincingly that they take up residence in your head and refuse to go away

Mary Crockett, Scotland on Sunday

A tour de force of literary technique, a treasure house of diligent research and imaginative ingenuity

Jane Shilling, Telegraph

A delightful portrait of an aging man at the mercy of his own foibles and frustrations

Marie Claire

Sequels rarely live up to their predecessors but this one comes close

Lianne Kolirin, Daily Express

A delight

Lucy Beresford, Literary Review

A rich, glowing portrait

Daisy Hay, Observer

At times witty and enchanting, on other occasions full of doubt and self-loathing, Merivel remains a stunning achievement. He is Everyman and speaks to us all

Virginia Blackburn, Sunday Express

A glorious book of heart-warming philosophy and heart-rending sadness

Sainsbury’s Magazine

Tremain writes beautifully about Reniassance England but it’s the glittering paradoxes of Merivel’s character that here leap fully formed from the page

Claire Allfree, Metro

An excellent novel...thrilling reading...incredibly entertaining

Bookgeeks.co.uk

This book is richly marbled with intelligence, compassion and compelling characters, leavened with flourishes of lyricism and an attractive tolerance towards human frailties

Angus Clarke, The Times

One of the great imaginative creations in English literature

Daily Telegraph

An unadulterated delight

Independent

For a second time this is one to cherish

Boyd Tonkin, Independent

Wonderfully entertaining

Michael Holroyd, Guardian, Books of the Year

Rich and satisfying

Lindsay Duguid, Sunday Times

A Pepysian romp of the first order

Independent Radar

Continues in the same superior vein as Restoration… The fusion of such an engrossing character, and the minutiae of another time, remains a marvel

Daily Telegraph

In this evocative and beautifully drawn novel of family and loyalty in the face of an uncertain future Tremain continues the story of a wonderfully unique character

Hannah Britt, Daily Express

Hugely enjoyable

Reader's Digest

Merivel’s hapless charm remains intact in this tour de force of literary technique

Sunday Telegraph (Seven)

A sequel that looks back to the earlier novel without ever quite recapturing its spirit is the perfect form in which to evoke that feeling of having to carry on, and of trying to make yourself have fun even with it eventually begins to hurt

Colin Burrow, Guardian

A marvelllously rollicking good read, and it is such a pleasure to meet Robert Merivel again. Rose Tremain brings the character to life in a way that makes you want to find out even more about the period. Enormously skilled and deft

Good Book Guide

Social, political and physical labyrinth

Frances Osborne, Evening Standard

Satisfying... agreeably sardonic

Quentin Letts, Daily Mail