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What the Deep Water Knows

WHAT THE DEEP WATER KNOWS is the debut poetry collection from bestselling author Miranda Cowley Heller, a series of exquisite reflections on love in all its seasons. 
In poetry that is quick-witted and lyrical, gentle and devastatingly frank, Cowley Heller contemplates time, marriage, and motherhood, and paints a moving portrait of a rich life.

Miranda Cowley Heller was raised in New York. After graduating from Harvard she became a books editor, before working for a decade as Head of Drama Series at HBO. She divides her time between Los Angeles, London and Cape Cod. The Paper Palace, her debut, was a number 1 New York Times bestseller in the US, a Sunday Times bestseller in the UK and was longlisted for the Women's Prize. What the Deep Water Knows is her first poetry collection.

THINGS THE TIDE HAS DISCARDED is the debut poetry collection from bestselling author Miranda Cowley Heller, a series of exquisite reflections on love in all its seasons.In poetry that is quick-witted and lyrical, gentle and devastatingly frank, Cowley Heller contemplates time, marriage, and motherhood, and paints a moving portrait of a rich life.

Miranda Cowley Heller

A deeply emotional love story that follows one day in the life of Elle Bishop as she navigates the unravelling of secrets, lies and a very complex love triangle

It's glorious and gorgeous. I was absolutely immersed and gripped and I'm devastated to have finished it

This accomplished family saga is gripping and poetic, capturing the complexity of the human heart

A family drama, a forbidden love story, a childhood tragedy, The Paper Palace is a stunning literary debut that will eat you up and leave you reeling - you won't want it to end

It's been ages since I was so absorbed in a contemporary novel. I loved it

In rich and sensuous prose, Cowley Heller, cracks open the human heart and exposes her character's choices: the paths not taken and the devastating consequences. I smelled the old cabins and the backwoods, felt the pond water lapping around my ankles, experienced the love and loss of family. A perceptive and powerful story which will stay with me for a long time

Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground

Tightly woven and immediate, The Paper Palace takes us deep into a vivid summer landscape, a family, and a private, longstanding love story, and holds us there from start to finish

Meg Wolitzer, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife and The Female Persuasion

I can't think of a more brilliant debut than The Paper Palace. Enticing, assured and multi-layered, it introduces a major new voice in American fiction . . . A marvel

Absolutely phenomenal novel - dazzling writing and utterly addictive. Read it

It felt as if I read The Paper Palace in one go. It was completely immersive, and shocking, and utterly alive. I loved it

The Paper Palace turned out to be the very page-turner I needed. If you want to learn something about love over a long time - how it can hurt, how it can soar - read this book

Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes

A family drama, a forbidden love story, a childhood tragedy, this is a stunning literary debut that will leave you reeling

A beautifully constructed, wonderfully intelligent and beguiling novel, rich with a multitude of pleasures

Miranda Cowley Heller has written a magnificent page-turner, a love story that shimmers with desire, intelligence, and humor. Lush and gorgeously written, The Paper Palace is as intoxicating as a summer night by the sea. I didn't want it to end

Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest

Set in the physical and psychic landscape of Cape Cod, The Paper Palace is a fever dream of a novel, luminous with love and shot through with humor and heartbreak. It is a book that explores the indelibility of childhood, what it means to be shaped by place, and all that is unpredictable about the human heart. I couldn't put it down

Beautifully written, richly compelling, The Paper Palace is as dark and uncompromising as it is tender and lyrical. Here is a love triangle that keeps you turning the pages, a vivid evocation of place, and an exploration of the one of the most unsettling of secrets

Rachel Joyce, author of Miss Benson's Beetle

The writing is full of rich detail, evoking the New England landscape . . . this is an absorbing family saga packed with intrigue and complicated characters that transports you to Cape Cod. I can't wait for the adaptation

Mesmerising . . .  A promising debut from a talent to watch

A deliciously lyrical novel . . . weaving between the dangerous yet excitable now and the years of ungodly traumas passed, this masterful tale of childhood love will wash over you like the refreshing, cold waters of The Paper Palace's nearby lake

[Cowley Heller] brings to fiction an understanding of how to layer storylines, as well as an assured feel for dialogue and visual description . . . a skilful portrait

The Paper Palace paints a vivid picture of family secrets and tensions, against the backdrop of a sun-soaked summer

Miranda Cowley Heller's debut The Paper Palace . . . finds Elle on the point of leaving her near-perfect family life for the visceral thrill of Jonas, green-eyed soul mate of her youthful vacations. With its atmospheric setting and rich backstory, the denouement is set to be an August talking point and a mini-series is already slated.'

This accomplished family saga is gripping and poetic, capturing the complexity of the human heart

A richly detailed family saga that nods to tales by Johns Cheever and Updike . . . this immersive novel makes for a lushly satisfying read

Miranda Cowley Heller

Praise for The Paper Palace

A deeply emotional love story that follows one day in the life of Elle Bishop as she navigates the unravelling of secrets, lies and a very complex love triangle

It's glorious and gorgeous. I was absolutely immersed and gripped and I'm devastated to have finished it

This accomplished family saga is gripping and poetic, capturing the complexity of the human heart

A deeply emotional love story that follows one day in the life of Elle Bishop as she navigates the unravelling of secrets, lies and a very complex love triangle

It's glorious and gorgeous. I was absolutely immersed and gripped and I'm devastated to have finished it

This accomplished family saga is gripping and poetic, capturing the complexity of the human heart

A deeply emotional love story that follows one day in the life of Elle Bishop as she navigates the unravelling of secrets, lies and a very complex love triangle

It's glorious and gorgeous. I was absolutely immersed and gripped and I'm devastated to have finished it

This accomplished family saga is gripping and poetic, capturing the complexity of the human heart

Books by Miranda Cowley Heller

Articles featuring Miranda Cowley Heller

The book to read based on your favourite Taylor Swift song

So just what happened at the end of The Paper Palace?

The easy reading hack that completely changed my day

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