This novel is not for the fainthearted. By that I mean it is written in an abstract and metaphorical prose that rolls off the tongue and is dripping with rich and evocative imagery. Leah is a formidable force. She is a character of many deep and visceral layers. The majority of the novel weaves together her present day experiences of living at the abbey and her past experiences of being queen. Banished to the abbey for 15 years, Leah’s wife lives in abject despair, not knowing what she did to deserve being banished after giving birth to her third child. The reviews of this novel are mixed with some stating that it is a slow burn. However, if you can read the book with your expectations stripped of requiring a plot, Leah’s wifes’ character unfolds in delicate layers and is a pure joy to behold.

The writing excited me and left me yearning for the next perfect microcosm expression for the vulnerabilities and tragedies of life – notably the fragility of the female existence in a patriarchal society. Leah’s wifes’ account of her time as Leah’s queen is horrific, she existed as an object at her husband’s disposal, her whole degrading life is encapsulated in the title alone – she is never named but identified as her husband’s chattel, highlighting the degradation of women under the patriarchal society of the time. Despite this, she is devoted to her husband and would happily of laid down her life for him and his crown. Her faith in her sovereign is unwavering and she clings to the breadcrumbs of her former happiness. She is an enigma; both strong and weak, imposing and meek, downtrodden and filled with joy. As she ages the lines between her memories and waking existence blurs and she is soon tormented by the ghosts from her past. Leah’s wife must sink further and further into the ghostly darkness of her soul in order to discover the buried truth of her banishment.

Leah’s wifes’ relationship with her daughters is revealed through small fragments of memories and we soon become aware that it was full of tension and game-play. She was not always the kindest mother and sometimes caused her daughters pain and suffering in order to teach them strict life lessons. Her tough love approach won her no favours. As readers we are positioned to feel a mix of emotions towards Leah’s wife, we are both awed by her majesty, ashamed of her callousness and appalled by her devotion to an egotistical maniac. This novel is incredibly unique and is one that will stay with me as one of my top reads of this year for its distinctness. For a debut novel – it’s outstanding.

This novel will be published on December 7th by Pegasus books.

This isn’t my favourite ‘classic meets feminism’ novel, but it is very impressive how the author has taken nothing and turned it into a huge, shining SOMETHING. It’s not the sort of book I loved, but it is a book I know others in my life would love, and I will be recommending it to those people.

Learwife is a richly layered, complex (and sometimes dense) book that beautifully charts the inner life of King Lear's wife- a queen, a mother, an outcast.

This book's main success is being able to so vividly create a life for this woman who- although unnamed for most of the book- feels like an incredibly detailed and realistic person, rather than a background character in a play. She fills multiple roles in the book, alternatively a spurned wife, a clever politician and a woman navigating the many strictures placed upon women in her time.

It reminded me a lot of Carol Ann Duffy's poetry collection 'The World's Wife' breathing life into a fictional woman in a way that is haunting and profound.

The language of this book is at times so dense it feels hard to swim through, but that is also its appeal- the rich tapestry of the language charts both the clouded thoughts of a 'mad' woman dealing with grief and panic, but also offering rare moments of lucidity where the clouds clear and this queen outwits and outmanoeuvres everyone around her, proving she can still hold her own in court.

I found myself highlighting passage after passage as I read this book, because turns of phrase were so startling and clever. Thorp is able to capture a cleverly Anglo-Saxon and old English speech pattern in a way that doesn't feel clumsy- for example kingly over regal, or compound nouns as adjectives.

I finished the book not knowing how I felt about it, but I have found myself thinking about it a lot since, and I can't wait for more people to read it too.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

At first, the story seemed interesting but the way it is written is definitely not for me… I can’t even follow the first pages

God, I really wanted to like this one. I love Shakespeare, and these stories that give voices to the women of literary and mythological history have been very popular in recent years, and I've liked a few. So a story following Lear's exiled wife after the end of the play should be right up my street.

But this was just so s l o w. I wasn't in the mood to read a book so slow. Other reviews have talked about its lyrical prose, but there's such a thing as too much lyricism in my opinion. You can't read a novel length poem where every sentence is a metaphor, a string of words to describe each individual thing, without any real pacing or plot. I got bored, and I found it a real slog to read.

I will say - the lyricism, if viewed as the main character's grief, almost works, and I wonder if that was what the author was going for. Her inability to fix her thoughts on one thing, constantly diving back into memory and metaphor, could be a reflection of her inability to focus through her grief after learning of the death of her husband and daughters. But it wasn't enough. Not for me, sadly.

Thanks to Canongate for an ARC of the book (via NetGalley).

A wonderfully lyrical novel that follows one woman's journey through grief, loneliness and redemption following the death of her husband, King Lear, and their three daughters. The twice-queen, who after decades of exil in a nunnery without even knowing for what crime she was banished and who has long forgotten her own name, sets off down a slow and winding path of mourning and discovery. The prose, like the protagonist, jumps from narration to memory to wandering reflection which expertly echoes her state of mind. A hugely evocative, beautifully written and heart-wrenching tale by a gifted author.

I loved this to start with, beautiful writing and I was drawn by the story of Lear's wife. But then it didn't go anywhere and I lost interest. Lovely writing though.

LearWife
I really should have liked this book much more than I did. I have studied and love King Lear, and I’m a big fan of the current trend to give voice to the sidelined women of classic literature. For me it started well, setting the scene and creating a wonderful atmosphere, but then it just didn’t seem to go anywhere much beyond the scene setting, I kept waiting for the story to really get going but it never did. After a while I felt I was drowning in the lyrical prose and unusually for me, about half way through I started to skim sections, desperately seeking some pace and storytelling. It didn’t help that I found all the characters, both dead and alive, to be so unlikeable. There’s nobody to root for.
There are some positives about the book, the writing is clever and I can see how many people will enjoy drifting long with the poetry. Thorpe creates a believable and visual landscape in which to set her story and the idea of a forgotten Queen and the reasons behind her exile are cleverly drip fed to us in a way that makes us feel we know and yet don’t know what’s behind her banishment.
There’s a lot to admire about Learwife and I can see why some people will love it, but unfortunately although I can appreciate the skill of the author, the writing just didn’t grab me and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d expected.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Stars: 2.5 out of 5

I am weak for historical fiction and retellings. I was looking forward to reading this book and was excited to start reading Learwife. The reviews looked amazing too! But after a few pages, it began to feel... flat. It felt like it can be an amazing book if it could be polished a bit more. I know many readers had enjoyed it and they are allowed to but this book wasn't for me.

First off I want to say thank you for receiving a copy of this book. The concept appealed to me though King Lear isn't my favourite Shakespeare play. But this year is the year for unheard women's voices and so this book struck a chord.

Unfortunately the prose really is not my thing, I find it too flowery. After 25 % I gave up reading as I felt this was dragging me down into a reading slump. I liked what the author did with the character and the concept still is very cool. But the ongoing retrospectives and the lack of actual plot made it very hard for me.

Nevertheless I am sure this book will find an audience - the existing Goodreads reviews point to this. It is simply not written for me. Thank you to the author for her interesting idea!

This novel is such a beautiful reimagining of King Lear's wife and her time banished to a nunnery. The writing is lyrical - truly exceptional - and it feels so poetic. It is a novel that will stay with me for a long time.

This story had a lot of promise. Female retellings of stories are very popular at the moment and I am here for it! I love King Lear and studied it for my a-level and when I saw that Learwife was something that existed, I was incredibly excited.

Turns out, Learwife is very boring.

We meet Lear’s wife after the events that take place in King Lear. She is in an abbey and learns of her daughters and husband’s death. Her plan is to go back to them to see them at their resting place but this does not happen. The abbess wishes her to stay – Learwife has made a life for herself at the abbey.

The story is mainly regarding her life at the abbey and dealing with sickness, death and succession. It is interesting that most of the book is regarding women and their relationship with power, with each other and the outer world. But this becomes quite dull.

I have to admit, I gave up at around page 220. At that point, you do not learn why Lear sent his wife away to an abbey. I do not know if Learwife did manage to leave. I was too bored, and I really did not care for Learwife. She was rude, full of herself and did not really show any strong emotion towards anything.

My expectations were high which is part of the reason why I did not get on with the book but overall, I’m just not a fan. It was slow paced, and it had quite flowery writing in places and the dialogue was written a bit stiffly.

This is an ARC review for Netgalley.
Oh my goodness what a book. This novel is written from the point of view of King Lear's wife. It is definitely a slow burner and a heavy read so may not be to everyone's taste but I enjoyed it immensely. The imagery and prose is of great depth and what a protagonist! The initial chapters focus mainly on the present in which the exiled Queen is living exiled in a nunnery. Gradually we get more and more glimpses of her past and hints of the reason she was exiled and the relationships that formed the woman we hear. The Queen is a fascinating character of great depth, intelligence and inner conflicts with a strong narrative voice. It may lag at times but overall a stunning read

There is a lot to like about Learwife, a spirited retelling of Shakespeare through the eyes of Lear's strong and spiteful Queen. It is one of those books which leaves an immediate impression: you will know within the first few pages whether you'll love it or leave it.

Learwife is weighted heavily by its distinctive narrative voice, prose all but drowning in poetry. Thorpe clearly has a love for language, and in places, her writing is wonderfully lyrical, but most of the time I found it overbearing, a long string of compound words. While I can see why some readers will fall under its spell, I found it difficult to be swept up in a story that's more embellishment than bones.

Firstly thank you to NetGalley and Canongate Books for an ARC of Learwife in exchange for an honest review.

Oh. My. GOD! I loved this book so much. It's the story of Shakespeare's King Lear's wife, who remains unnamed for much of the novel. It tells her story of life in the nunnery to where she was banished years before Lear's death, as well as flashing back to periods in her life as a young wife and mother to her three daughters. Sometimes I had to reread small sections just to get my bearings, especially towards the end as 'her' confusion and madness grabs hold of her. But the gist is that she doesn't know why she was sent away from Lear; what her supposed crime was. But she's trying to get away, back to visit the graves of her husband and her girls, in a time when disease strikes the nunnery and they are all forced to quarantine (topical, right?), deaths are rampant with even the abess losing her life. It's up to Lear's wife to choose her replacement, who would be most likely to release her?

This is not a book to race through. This is a book to curl up with in your favourite reading spot and savour the delicious poetic imagery conjured up by the author. Initially I wasn't sure that I would like it, I thought it might be a bit too heavy for me. I haven't read King Lear and don't even know what happens but this doesn't matter. A couple of chapters in and I just connected with the prose and I just loved all of it. I'm excited to see what else JR Thorp can treat us with in the future.

The novel tells the story of the King Lear's wife; a woman who was written out of history.

I enjoyed the lyrical prose and the emotive story that the Queen, tells. It was a gentle pace that told the of her life at court before her banishment and I waited with baited breath when at the books conclusion all was revealed. A truly captivating story that had me gripped.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review

I am a bit torn in this review. To sum up I loved the writing but it just went on way too long. It would have been far more admirable at a maximum of 500 pages. The writing is beautiful and the story is fascinating to me being a big fan of Shakespeare and especially King Lear. There are very clever tie ins to the original play and it was fascinating to find out about the King’s Queen and her viewpoint on her marriage, children and husband. Some very clever devices are employed, I do not want to give them away as one of the the most meaningful for me is not revealed until the last page. Absolutely brilliant, but just too long. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me access to an arc.

Word has come. Care-bent King Lear is dead, driven mad and betrayed. His three daughters too, broken in battle. But someone has survived: Lear's queen. Exiled to a nunnery years ago, written out of history, her name forgotten. Now she can tell her story. Through her grief and rage may threaten to crack the earth open, she knows she must seek answers. Why was she sent away in shame and disgrace?

This is a slow burner but one to stay with! The writing is truly exceptional and it is one of those books where you finish it and want to turn right back to the beginning and start it all over again.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I think I enjoyed this book; it's a slow burn, but I'm glad I finished it.
This is definitely not a book that everyone will enjoy. I found the lyrical prose enchanting but found that I struggled to get into the story at first.
Overall, I'm glad I persevered because I loved the ending!


[I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review]

As a lover of Shakespeare, I have seen King Lear several times on stage, with various interpretations of the play.

I have also read several books based on Shakespeare’s plays involving sub-characters, modified endings and more. Some have been interesting; others have not.

Sadly Lear Wife was not; it was dull, poorly written and repetitive. It felt like the author was struggling to fill the pages with words and it really dragged.

I skim read the second half to see if it picked up, but there was little or no action and just more of the same overly poetic, flowery prose...

Very disappointing.