The Maker of Swans - Tapa dura

This debut comes highly praised by Costa prize-winner Helen Macdonald . . . it is O'Donnell's arresting descriptions of the natural world that are likely to live longest in the mind (DAILY MAIL)

it would not be surprising if the public clamours for a second instalment of this vividly imagined and deeply pleasurable gothic fantasy - not to mention a film. (FINANCIAL TIMES)

at its best, the prose in O'Donnell's first novel is glorious, combining an ear for deep cadences of language with a phenomenal acuity of vision. (THE GUARDIAN)

Poetic and strange, this Gothic novel is a dark, elegant celebration of the power and beauty of words and the spells they weave. (SUNDAY EXPRESS)

this book is like the swans Clara makes in her dreams, though it may assume a familiar shape, it remains very much its own thing, strange and new and captivating. (THE INDEPENDENT)

O'Donnell's eloquent descriptions and old-world characters make it a charming, lyrical read even when tension is high. I admired the depth of O'Donnell's imagination, which allowed him to conjure uo this enthralling tale . . . A literary feast (STYLIST)

A powerful thriller (VOGUE)

Wonderfully dark, magical (ELLE)

Strange and beautiful - one of Stylist's Essential Reads for 2016 (STYLIST)

A fabulously assured, elegant Gothic-flavoured tale (WOMAN AND HOME)