Ellie and the Harp Maker by Hazel Prior is a sweet story about a woman and yes, a harp maker. I loved the authors writing style and wanted to walk right into the book, into the barn where the harps are made.

This isn’t full of thrills and suspense but its a beautifully written story. Dan is just a simple harp maker (I think he is on the autism spectrum though the author doesn’t address this) who doesn’t desire money for his harps, rather he is content to give them to people for pure enjoyment. Ellie is tired of her controlling husband and after stumbling upon Dan and his harps, begins to take an interest in learning to play the harp. She might be interested in Dan too… Both Dan and Ellie are different in their own ways but they connect over music.

I really enjoyed the author’s descriptions of the town of Exmoor!

In the rolling hills of beautiful Exmoor, there’s a barn. And in that barn, you’ll find Dan. He’s a maker of exquisite harps – but not a great maker of conversation. He’s content in his own company, quietly working and away from social situations that he doesn’t always get right.

But one day, a cherry-socked woman stumbles across his barn and the conversation flows a little more easily than usual. She says her name’s Ellie, a housewife, alone, out on her daily walk and, though she doesn’t say this, she looks sad. He wants to make her feel better, so he gives her one of his harps, made of cherry wood.

And before they know it, this simple act of kindness puts them on the path to friendship, big secrets, pet pheasants and, most importantly, true love.



Due out May 2.

Ellie and the Harpmaker is a unique love story, full of whimsy and heart. Ellie, who is lacking direction and fulfillment in her life, stumbles across a barn down a lane near where she lives. There she is amazed by the array of beautiful harps created by a master artist. Dan, who creates these wonderful instruments, knows each harp’s unique personality and characteristics. He impulsively gives one to Ellie, which sets her on a path to discover the beauty of harp music and reverence for the instrument. Soon Ellie is enchanted by the harp and the pull she feels towards the harp, the barn, and even Dan, changes her life - and Dan’s.

#EllieAndTheHarpmaker #NetGalley

Lovely story about art, friendship and life struggles. An artistically curious woman serendipitously meets a harp maker and a magically woven relationship prevails.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advance copy of this book. I truly enjoyed Ellie and the Harpmaker and did not want to put it down. It’s a beautifully written book. Dan makes beautiful wooden harps. He meets Ellie and this book is about their story. I loved it!

OMG I loved this book! Probably one of my favorites this year. The writing is flawless, and the story so ful of heart and charm and magic!

I'll review it fully closer to the release date on my blog.

An engaging story of finding oneself and branching out. Ellie stumbles across Dan, a harpmaker's workshop, and a beautiful story of friendship and music happens. The setting is beautiful, the story moving, and the characters really find their way into your heart.

Ellie and the Harpmaker (2019)
By Hazel Prior
Berkley/Penguin, 336 pages.
★★★★

Ellie and the Harpmaker is a quirky little novel whose charm grows the deeper you get into it. Set in Exmoor, which lies near Bristol in the southwest of England, it centers on two loners whose relationship is seldom what you’d imagine. Although Hazel Prior’s story is nothing like that of Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, there are similarities in tone and the overall unusualness of the two tales.

Dan Hollis is the titular harpmaker. Although Prior never uses the term autism, we suspect he’s on the spectrum. In his isolated barn Dan fashions gorgeous instruments; a small sign proclaiming him the “Exmoor Harpmaker” is the only hint of a shop with nearly three dozen hand-carved harps, each fashioned from wood Dan carefully chooses and adorned with a pebble he plucks from a brook. Dan leaves sales to his sister Jo, as he has no head for business or much of anything else that’s practical. He makes only Celtic harps, which he can tune but cannot play because he has done so since childhood. Dan’s the kind of guy who counts ants and stars, notices the color of socks, brews coffee for its smell but doesn’t drink it, and serves sandwiches to his rare visitors, which he cuts into precise triangles. (It is a major effort to adjust to cutting them into rectangles.)

Overall, Dan is far more at home in the woods and upon the moors than in social situations. Metaphors and irony stump him, and he answers all questions literally and without filters. He has just one friend, Thomas, his postal carrier, though he does claim to have a girlfriend he calls Roe Deer–though her name is actually Rhoda Rothbury, a harper*–whom he knows lives precisely 23.1 miles away. She’s been his girlfriend for eight years, though is doesn’t dawn on Dan that they’ve not been intimate or on a date for six years and that she disappeared for a year.

One day, Ellie Jacobs sees his small sign and impulsively visits Dan’s shop. Thus begins their connection. Dan dubs her “the Exmoor Housewife,” and impulsively gifts her a harp that she cannot play. Ellie is married to Clive, who purports to adore her, though theirs is a jealous, manipulative relationship–so much so he browbeats her into returning the harp. In turn, Ellie tries to hide the fact that she is taking lessons from Roe/Rhoda, that she regularly visits Dan, and that he keeps her harp in his shop.

This sets up a series of situations, some hysterical, some fraught with tension, and some touchingly poignant. There’s even a character named Phineas, who is a pheasant! This is a book about what happens when a guileless innocent is drawn into situations that call for tactful disingenuousness–especially when encountering another as rigid as he, but decidedly not so innocent. It is also one in which individuals who lack confidence and self-esteem find music and affinities that make the soul soar.

If I might return to the unusualness theme, little that I’ve said truly captures this book’s essence. Ms. Prior knows something about the impact of music; she too is a harper. Hans Christian Anderson remarked, “Where words fail, music speaks.” Ms. Prior’s characters aren’t exactly wordless, but both actual music and what we might call the music of the heart help those who struggle to articulate convey their inner natures and build connections.

I will not pretend that Ellie and the Harpmaker is destined to become a literary classic. In parts it is overly sentimental and it occasionally skirts the border of cliché. It is nonetheless a sweet debut that sounds triumphant notes for characters who find joy in simple things and rediscover innocence. To circle back to my opening, it is a novel whose major virtue is its charm.

Rob Weir


* Although many people use the term “harpist,” years ago acclaimed Scottish musician Alison Kinnaird advised me that the correct term is “harper.” If anyone knows, it is she!

Elli and the Harpmaker was different than what I had been expecting. Yes you have a man and a girl who fall sweetly in love, but the darker aspect took me by surprise. I was not expecting to have to fact abuse, alcoholism, and issues with mental health. These topics added to depth of the novel. I actually enjoyed it more because it wasn’t a simple romance book. However, I personally found the writing dry for my taste, which made me feel like the beginning of the book was very slow. However, the speed does pick up towards the middle.

This is a lovely story of an unlikely relationship between an unusual, special needs man and a neglected wife. They both have so much to offer but have been left out of a meaningful relationship. Very touching.

A truly beautifully written story. At the core, it's about love, acceptance, and choices. I really enjoyed the descriptive qualities...just enough to let my imagination roam.

This was simply a tender and sweet love story of two special characters. Dan is a harpmaker of extraordinary talent. He lives on Exmoor and knows that he has difficulties. He has problems communicating and he thinks he is ‘made of the wrong ingredients’. But you will fall in love with him! Ellie is a lonely housewife with a manipulative husband. She happens to come across Dan’s barn, where he makes the harps. I am not going to say more about this except that it is a very special story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was okay. Dan, the harpmaker, is excellently drawn, but I could not empathize much with Ellie even though her husband could be a big jerk. I enjoyed learning about harps and Exmoor.

It was refreshing to read a book with a character on the spectrum where his diagnosis wasn't the main focus. But I was more interested in the harps than the characters! I didn't feel connected to any of them, even annoyed at times. It was a fast read...because there wasn't much depth in the characters or their life events.

Not my usual genre, so this was an interesting book for me to choose. I suppose the title was catchy. Anyway, the harp maker character was intriguing because I saw some similar characteristics to my own (focused on both creating and paying attention to the smallest things in our surroundings, discomfort in groups, etc). I could also relate to Elle, especially her need for harmonious relationships. As for the book itself, I kept putting it away and coming back to it days later. In some respects, the story dragged on unnecessarily but then you'd realize that was necessary to characters development. I'll give it three stars -

I admit that the overall plot is very good. I liked the character of Ellie and think that she developed a lot growth throughout the story.
But it seems like the feelings between her and harpmaker are forced, and that the husband is made to be a kerk with the specific purpose of Ellie falling for another man.
The development of the relationship seemed forced to create drama, and in the end it was just too predictable.

First things first: I love when stories match their covers. And with Ellie and the Harpmaker, it fit so well that I went back and stared at it when I finished the story. So much simplicity, but so much meaning to the story as a whole. I think that is very important in the books that I read. 

The author's writing in this book was purely lyrical. That is the only way I can put it. The words and descriptions flowed so nicely together that I wasn't even annoyed that things were being described so much. I think had any one else wrote this, I would have grown bored on the second chapter. But I really, really enjoyed Hazel Prior's writing.

I know that I have touched on this before in my previous reviews, but when stories include a character with a mental illness or a "difference" from the typical characters we read about-- I love to see where they go and I love to explore the characters and almost study them in a way! Dan was such a wonderful character. And with the author giving us his POV, I enjoyed the story as a whole so much more. When the author explores these types of characters with such delicacy, I am happy and intrigued. 

I love, love, loved Dan and Ellie's friendship. I love it. There is simply no other way to put it. The safety and friendship that Ellie finds in Dan and vice-versa, I loved that. It was so precious to me. 

Ellie and the Harpmaker was such a sweet and simple story. I absolutely adored the way the author described and wrote so well about how the two main characters experienced the world around them. Two different types of people and worlds colliding the way Dan and Ellie's did is one of my favorite things to read about.

I loved this book, especially as one of the main characters is a pheasant named Phineas! It is a lovely story, beautifully written with good character development. Highly recommended!

What a beautifully written story of two people who find each other in an unusual way. Dan is a simple man, a harp maker in a barn in the woods of Exmoor. Ellie stumbles upon the barn, lost and looking for direction. Ellie becomes enamored of Celtic harp music, and begins to see hope. I highly recommend this story for the lyrical writing and the unique characters. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

When Ellie walks into the Harp Barn one day, her life and the lives of Dan and Clive, are bound to change. Dan, the harp maker, is a sensitive soul and, though it isn't mentioned in the book, comes across as someone on the autism spectrum. He is very good looking and when Ellie mentions that "playing the harp" is on her before 40 list, gives her a harp. Ellie's husband Clive, thinks the gift is inappropriate and does not support Ellie's desire to learn to play. So, Ellie goes and takes lessons behind his back. I don't want to give away what happens next. You will just have to read the book. I thoroughly enjoyed this engaging and tender book.

5+ stars
I am shaking with excitement over this book. I am bubbling with praise!

The author's words were so eloquent, vivid, and emotional! They had a rhythm and beauty like a poem or a song.
The magnificently descriptive writing was illuminating- I could see what they saw, I felt what they felt.
This book was complete bliss to read!! I was captivated and could not stop reading.
This is her first book, I hope not her last...I will be anxiously waiting for her next one- It will go on my bookshelf.

I highly recommend this - everyone needs to experience this book!!

I will be adding more once I read the final copy
to ensure these quotes are still in.