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203J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care October 2011 Vol 37 No 4

FICTION BOOK REVIEW

The Hand That First Held Mine
Maggie O’Farrell. London, UK: Headline Publishing 

Group, 2011. ISBN-13: 978-0-755–30846-0. 

Price £7.99. Pages: 384 (paperback)

The novel starts as two independent sto-
ries that initially are told in alternating 
chapters. The fi rst is a passionate love 
affair set in Soho in London in the 1950s. 
The couple meet in Devon, over a garden 
fence, but the scene swiftly moves to the 
capital and Lexie, a young impressionable 
graduate, moves in with Innes, a self-con-
fessed hedonist and a journalist. They live 
for several years in Hampstead, working 
together on a magazine whose offi ce is 
in Soho. Innes is separated, his wife and 
daughter loathe Lexie, and they exact a 
terrible revenge for his betrayal. O’Farrell 
describes the fashions, lifestyle and even 
the weather of the times beautifully.

The other story, set in the present time, 
involves Elina and Ted. Elina has just dis-
charged herself from hospital following the 
traumatic delivery of her fi rst child. There 
follows a most insightful description of a 
mother, slowly recovering from an emer-
gency Caesarean during which she lost a 
lot of blood, coping with the demands of 
a newborn baby. Her partner, Ted, bewil-
dered, riddled with guilt and anxiety, 
becomes increasingly withdrawn. I have 
never read such a sympathetic account of 
the partner’s response and emotions fol-
lowing a complicated delivery. I believe 
that O’Farrell herself had a diffi cult time 
during childbirth, which may account for 
the eloquence of the writing.

The affair ends tragically and Lexie 
becomes a successful journalist travel-
ling the world. Elina recovers but Ted 
becomes increasingly disturbed, the baby 
provoking fl ashbacks from his own child-
hood. The two stories eventually connect 

and we see how the events of 50 years 
ago have had a profound effect on the 
lives of Elina and Ted. As the novel ends 
there is hope but no certainty that they 
will survive as a family.

O’Farrell explores the effect of jeal-
ousy, grief, loss and new parenthood. At 
times she draws back from the novel into 
a narrative and tells the reader how the 
buildings lived and worked in by Innes 
and Lexie have changed over the 50 years 
and how they now feature in Ted and 
Elina’s lives. She also provides insights 
into the plot. This is a skilful novel and a 
good read. I found myself thinking about 
it for days afterwards.

Reviewed by Gillian Robinson

Associate Specialist, Department of Sexual Health, 
Southwark Primary Care Trust, London, UK

J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 2011;37:203. 
doi:10.1136/jfprhc-2011-100195

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