Maria, Maria
A man in exile. A young bride left behind. A mistress who becomes their go-between. A connection like no other.
Maria, Maria is a historical-fiction novel set in 1950s Portugal and Newfoundland, following a young man exiled from Portugal, the wife he was forced to leave behind, and the mistress who becomes his scribe and their intermediary, tracing the unexpectedly profound epistolary relationship that develops between the two women—both named Maria.
Random House (US)
February 02, 2027
Hutchinson Heinemann (UK)
March 04, 2027
Praise for Maria, Maria
‘Maria, Maria is a gorgeous, joy of a novel about the complicated ways in which we love one another, often from unthinkable distances. I cannot believe this is Jennifer Galvao’s first book; it’s a tremendous achievement.”- Ann Napolitano, author of Hello Beautiful
“A transporting, romantic, immensely generous novel about love in its many forms. Jennifer Galvão is a writer of the highest order, one to be spoken of alongside Amy Bloom and Colm Tóibín and Maggie Shipstead, and her debut, Maria, Maria is simply a marvel.”—Jenny Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street
“Maria, Maria is that rare gem: a debut novel that feels like a classic, at once tender, tragic, and transcendent. Galvão is a luminous new talent.”—Peter Ho Davies, author of A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself and The Welsh Girl
“Sweeping yet intimate, heart-breaking yet hopeful, Maria, Maria made me gasp and cry more than once. This is a story to be completely swept up in, with writing so tender it hurts.”—Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things
“What a rare and astonishing gift, a novel so richly transporting that it replaces life with its dream. Maria, Maria is an extraordinary depiction of the many dimensions of love and the ways women bend but do not break, and it stunned me on every page. Jennifer Galvão has done something remarkable here: She has made a world. I could hardly bear to leave it.”—Julie Buntin, author of Famous Men and Marlena
“Maria, Maria is a wondrous novel; I completely lost myself inside its pages. The dazzling prose and vivid, evocative storytelling made me think of Elena Ferrante - it’s that good. I adored it.’—Clare Leslie Hall, author of Broken Country
“I was completely lost in this novel, caught between trying to dwell as long as possible in every sentence and racing breathlessly to the end. It is a feast for all of the senses, evoked in such exquisite detail I could not believe it was a debut. Now more than ever I rejoice when I encounter novels that draw us completely out of the world and into their pages. This is one. Tender, sensual, thrilling - simply exquisite.” - Sara Collins, author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton, winner of the The Costa Book Awards