From Readers & Press | Love Divine: A Novella

‘We are in Barbara Pym territory here and it is heaven.’ – Aldeburgh Bookshop

‘A comic masterpiece, unputdownable (literally!).’ – James Lefanu

‘I enjoyed it so much . . . exactly the sort of novel I like best . . .

. . . a rich range of beautifully observed characters, everything so natural and absorbing. I loved how almost everyone could grow and develop and surprise themselves – I suppose in some cases it amounts to a real chance of redemption . . . The moments of revenge are glorious and there’s a proper moment of sadness too when decades of hurt are uncovered. I have a general soft spot for monstrous characters in novels who never actually appear, e.g. Jane Austen’s Mrs Churchill, and Johnny and Lavinia go straight into the pantheon.’
Philip Hensher

‘A comic masterpiece, unputdownable (literally!). Austenesque in its portrayal of that marvellous cast of characters and the consequences of their actions.’ – James Lefanu

‘. . . the best chronicler of contemporary life, mores, pretensions, cross-generational conversations, speeches, sermons, egregious letters, displays of idiocy, ever. Every social situation debagged or deconstructed with such acuity and wit. I adored it.’ – Valerie Grove

‘This book is a joy and I hope Ysenda is thinking of a sequel. Beautifully published by Slightly Foxed. Put it on your Christmas list right now!’ – Adele Geras

‘Love Divine is a triumph . . . A tour de force. Anybody would think Ysenda were a past master (mistress all wrong) at the genre of fiction, with a side hustle of screenplays. I adored the church politics – and I write that as a communicant of the C of E who just knows! . . . it’s all so moving.’ – Bel Mooney

‘I was enchanted by Ysenda Maxtone Graham’s gently hilarious new book. It was not just the cast of wonderfully recognisable parish characters, the clever plotting, and the understated satire that delighted, but the reminder that, for Christianity to be authentic, it must be kind, generous, and above all profoundly sincere. Beautifully bound in red cloth by Slightly Foxed, this is a volume that would grace any drawing room, kitchen table – or Christmas tree.’ – Catherine Coldstream, author of Cloistered: My years as a Nun

‘Ysenda Maxtone Graham who is renowned for her astute, nostalgic social commentaries, has produced her first work of fiction. It is a novella (beautifully bound) that follows a year in the life of a church community in a rus in urbe village on London’s outskirts and that of a new widow poleaxed by grief and unanswered questions. It is an interregnum — a turnover of visiting preachers yields the wise, the revolutionary and the naff — with which many parishes will sympathise, where places at an over- subscribed local primary school are dependent on parents’ participation in good works. Protagonists include a retiring (in both senses of the word) schoolmaster and choir-master who numbers his ties, a pushy arriviste who bullies her Bulgarian cleaner and a snobby old bat who will undergo a Damascene conversion. The author knows her stuff – the ebb and flow of parish-church life is pitch-perfect – and inhabits each of her characters with perspicacity; the result is a gentle delight.’ – Country Life

‘When people recommend books by their friends, it’s wise to be wary of bias. “Well they would say that, wouldn’t they” etc . . . That said, I do wholeheartedly urge Love Divine by Ysenda Maxtone Graham on all and sundry. I have been a fan of her journalism and her non-fiction forever, and this move into fiction contains all the things that make her writing so good – her beady eye, the discreet savagery of her wit, her great empathy for the underdog and the overlooked. She’s folded all these into an adorable and structurally audacious story set in a parish on the leafy edge of London. I devoured it at speed and now consider myself much educated on today’s Church of England, and inordinately entertained by it too. Slightly Foxed have published it in a very handsome hardback volume. Massive gifting potential.’ – Jasper Rees

‘Leafy Lamley Green, a vibrant village boasting an ancient church and an ‘outstanding’ school, is the rich-in-intrigue setting for this novella. Spanning a year during which the quest for a new rector takes centre stage, it’s the dramas around the edges that simmer. Newly widowed Lucy, a doctor’s receptionist, is plagued by suspicions about her late husband. Latin master Hugh is facing retirement and the prospect of a reunion with a lost love; B&B owner Vicki is threatened by ruinous reviews, and someone seems to have a vendetta against Hyacinth Bucket-like churchwarden Elizabeth. Played out in emails, texts and scripted dialogues, there are some wonderful set pieces, not least a wicked skewering of literary festival celebs. But as Christmas draws near and the new rector arrives, it’s love and mercy that, fittingly, triumph.’ – Daily Mail

‘This is Ysenda Maxtone Graham’s first work of fiction – a novella – just published in a handsome edition by Slightly Foxed. Ysenda will be familiar to you for her hilarious (and tragic) book about girls’ boarding schools called (brilliantly) Terms and Conditions. A witty and touching story which points up affectionately but with deadly accuracy what’s wrong — and what’s right – with the modern Church of England . . . We are in Barbara Pym territory here and it is heaven.’ – Aldeburgh Bookshop

‘Maxtone Graham does a wonderful job of capturing how as one is facing supreme sadness and loss, life is dotted with moments of beauty and joy . . . I shed more than a couple of tears while reading this book, but I mostly giggled, smiled, smirked, and nodded along to the ridiculous, funny, endearing, relatable bits . . . I wholeheartedly loved it. [Love Divine] is right up there among my favourite books of the year. And it is one I will be returning to again, before too long.’ – Caro’s Bookcase

‘Come for the tea and stay for the transformation . . .’

‘Love Divine, the debut novella by Ysenda Maxtone Graham, is set in the leafy, fictional parish of Lamley Green and weaves together a tableau of stories about the community. The title comes from the hymn ‘Come Down, O Love Divine’; but beneath this bourgeois Church of England world of round-robins and milky tea is a satirical portrait of a parish with a dark underbelly . . . Reading the book is like going to a church service as a non-believer: you come for the tea and stay for the transformation.’
Genevieve Gaunt, Spectator

‘An affectionate eye turned on village life and love . . .

YSENDA MAXTONE GRAHAM has made a name for herself by writing bracing books addressing topics in 20th-century social history, ranging from boarding-school life to the traditional British summer holiday. Love Divine is her first venture into fiction. The setting is Lamley Green, a well-to-do village with an ancient church in need of a new parish priest, a primary school with an “Outstanding” Ofsted rating, and a fleet of colourful characters.

The heroine of the piece is the newly widowed Lucy. Her bereavement was entirely unexpected, leaving her shocked and tormented by unanswered questions about her husband’s recent behaviour. Nick was a churchgoer – he sang in the choir – but faith has never been Lucy’s bag. After his death, she finds herself reluctantly drawn in, for all her doubts and uncertainties.

Among her neighbours we meet Hugh, a dog-lover and Latin teacher, who is coming up to retirement after a long and happy career in a prep school; Elizabeth, who knows how things should be done and is keen on keeping up standards; Carol, plagued by loneliness and the overwhelming burden of keeping up with the world’s conflicts so that she can write informed prayers for Sunday worship; a brash newcomer, Chantelle, desperate to secure her daughter Jasmine a place at the primary school; and Vicki, hoping to set up a B&B business, but at the mercy of careless online reviewers.

The action, such as it is, spans a calendar year, during which Lucy begins to come to terms with Nick’s death. There are machinations in the appointment of the new rector, and other fallings-out and alliances within the village. The story is told from a number of different perspectives through a mix of emails, texts, and conversation. The multi-character narrative, the diary form, and the affectionate characterisation of the C of E will remind many readers of the novels of Catherine Fox.

This is a warm-hearted novel, portraying recognisable and all-too-human characters – and the author provides an ending that is compassionate and satisfying on many levels.’ Sarah Meyrick, Church Times


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