Amanda
A Novel
by H. S. Cross
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Pub Date Sep 23 2025 | Archive Date Sep 23 2025
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Description
Love is the only lifeline.
★ “Some combination of Edna O’Brien, Muriel Spark, and maybe a pinch of Jane Austen... Mesmerizing, haunting, hopeful.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Post-WWI England is a nation in upheaval, its foundations shaken by the Great War and the collapse of genteel Edwardian society. The streets are haunted by shell-shocked men, runaways, mutilated veterans, damned poets, and revolutionaries.
Marion has fled Galway for Oxford after her elopement with a violent man ended violently. In the City of Dreaming Spires, where the cobbled streets, barely lit pubs, and underground book presses hum with restless energy, she meets Jamie, a damaged soul like her who is struggling to recover from his experiences at the front. He alone sees her scars. She alone knows his secret name. Their love is wild, anarchic, dangerous, absolute. Everything, it seems, is at stake. When the “talkers” in Marion’s head get too loud and the circumstances of her life too dire, she disappears, leaving Jamie bereft and without word. But their love is like gravity--an undeniable force pitted against the dark forces that would keep them apart.
At once an erotic drama, a formally inventive romantic epic, and a historical novel written with an emotional intensity that bears comparison to classics like Wuthering Heights, Patrick Hamilton’s Hangover Square, and Madame Bovary, Amanda is a poignant, atmospheric meditation on love, trauma, and redemption. H.S. Cross delivers an unforgettable novel on the infinite varieties of human experience.
A Note From the Publisher
- Literary fiction enthusiasts
- Fans of classic romances-gone-wrong like Wuthering Heights and Persuasion
- Lovers of dual-perspective romances
- Anglophiles and history buffs interested in post-WWI England, Ireland, and Scotland
- Readers interested in mental health and psychology
- Readers of Marilynne Robinson, Sarah Waters, Kate Atkinson, John Banville, Ali Smith, Alan Hollinghurst, Jane Campbell, Megan Hunter
KEY SELLING POINTS
- Suspenseful Romance: Readers are left guessing what will happen to Jamie and Marion until the very end
- Oxford Novel: Anglophiles will rejoice at the setting, which recalls elements of Henry Henry, Babel, and Brideshead Revisited
- Classic Feel: Fans of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters will love the novel’s emotional depth and elegant prose
- Ties to Theology: S. Cross is an expert in exploring the links between faith and literature, leaving much to discuss for readers interested in religion
Advance Praise
★ “In 1926 England, two people—a young woman desperate to avoid her former lover and that former lover, equally desperate to find her—struggle with despair and spiritual doubt... Cross tackles such small issues as faith, the Easter Rebellion, and British classism... That Cross’ voice—some combination of Edna O’Brien, Muriel Spark, and maybe a pinch of Jane Austen—comes from a contemporary American writer is hard to believe. Mesmerizing, haunting, hopeful.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Praise for H.S. Cross
“For Anglophiles, seekers, and those who enjoy the insular world of C. P. Snow’s Strangers and Brothers novels and the haunting power of Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending.”—Jen Baker, Booklist on Wilberforce
“This ambitious and accomplished debut is part historical, part bildungsroman, part psychological study, and part English boarding-school novel...VERDICT: This convincingly handled work is recommended for all fans of coming-of-age novels.”—Library Journal on Wilberforce
“Cross writes with a beautiful precision... The author crafts passages of agonizing psychological self-torment with a master's ear for the perfect phrase.”—The New York Journal of Books [on Wilberforce]
“Cross’s rich gifts as a writer are evident on every page. She has thoroughly researched and inhabited this world, down to its slang, rituals, and historical atmosphere."— Image Journal on Wilberforce
“Cross's fine eye for detail and empathy for the human condition . . . [are] rewarding in their emotional insights.”—Kristen McDermott, Historical Novel Society on Wilberforce
Marketing Plan
Marketing & Publicity
- Print & e-galleys available
- National and regional media
- Author tour
Marketing & Publicity
- Print & e-galleys available
- National and regional media
- Author tour
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9798889661351 |
| PRICE | $27.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 336 |
