Maggie O'Farrell's groundbreaking debut: a stunning, best-selling story of wrenching love and grief

'The first proper novel I've read in an age. It is beautifully yet accessibly written and deals with the subject of grief in such an astute, touching and real way that I was on the verge of tears for most of the book' Lisa Jewell -- Daily Mail After You'd Gone was no.10 in the Sunday Express bestseller list After You'd Gone was chosen by Fi Glover as her favourite read in the Mail On Sunday 23/9 -- Mail on Sunday 20010923 'Rarely have I been forced to give up my life so entirely to dedicate myself to a book. And I felt the strands of the story tied together beautifully, so that as well as being funny, rich and harrowing, it ws also a deeply satisfying read' Esther Freud -- You Magazine 20010805 'This fantastic novel... The characters and story will really touch your emotions' -- Best 20011218 'This weepy... Is guaranteed to leave you out of Kleenex... Your life stands still as you turn the pages. An amazing study of grief as it poses the wrenching question: What do you do with all the love you have for someone when they're gone?' Glamour 20011218 'A memorable debut' Daily Telegraph 20011218 'Maggie O'Farrell keeps the reader guessing right up to the end in this engrossing psychological mystery... the characterisation is excellent and the dialogue immaculate' Sunday Telegraph 20011218 'an engrossing study of loss and family ties, delivered with the page-turning pace of a thriller' Independent on Sunday 20011218 'Details of Alice's childhood in North Berwick, its landscape and the well-observed objects that texture everyday life are convincingly done... cleverly constructed plot and great ending' Observer 20011218 'A story of passion and romance, of lost opportunity and chance happenings, of happiness and grief. This combination of love story and mystery is a moving and powerful debut and a sign of great things to come' Sunday Mirror 20011218 'Intriguing and mysterious novel' Express 20011218 'A contemporary and unflinching look at passion and attachment' Independent 20011218 'AFTER YOU'D GONE may be Maggie O'Farrell's first novel, but it shows a maturity that more experienced writers would mortgage their typewriters for... O'Farrell possesses a fine eye for the absurdities of human behaviour, which lightens, but does not diminish the tragedy that pervades this compassionate and engrossing book' Glasgow List 20011218 'A compellling and beautifully crafted tragedy about the past getting in the way of the present' Nottingham Evening Post 20011218 'This weepy, now out in paperback, is guaranteed to leave you out of Kleenex... your life stands still as you turn the pages. An amazing study of love and grief as it poses the wrenching question: What do you do with all the love you have for someone when they're gone?' -- Glamour 'A memorable debut' -- Daily Telegraph 'Maggie O'Farrell keeps the reader guessing right up to the end in this engrossing psychological mystery... the characterisation is excellent and the dialogue immaculate' -- Sunday Telegraph 'an engrossing study of loss and family ties, delivered with the page-turning pace of a thriller' -- Independent on Sunday

Maggie O'Farrell was born in Northern Ireland in 1972, and grew up in South Wales and North Bewick. After studying English Literature at Cambridge, and travelling in the Far East and Mongolia, she moved to London, where she worked at the Poetry Society and as a journalist. AFTER YOU'D GONE is her first novel.