Praise for THE MATHEMATICS OF LOVE: 'This is that rare thing, a book that works on every conceivable level... an uncommonly good read...remarkable...this is a novel of extremes: there is suffering, violent and disturbing portraits of war and of personal loss; but equally extreme moments of joy and human undertanding. At its core are the emotions that most shape us - love and loss...[Emma Darwin] builds layer upon layer of emotion and history until, like a photographic print emerging from its chemical bath, the final picture is revealed...A real achievement' -- The Times 'Fascinating. If you're in a book club torn between lovers of 19th-century and modern fiction, The Mathematics of Love may be just the thing to square the circle... hauntingly beautiful' -- Washington Post 'Convincing and involving...a book to lose yourself in' -- Daily Mail 'A beautifully written, intelligent book...as historically graphic and passionately romantic as Sebastian Faulks's Birdsong'" -- Waterstone's Books Quarterly 'A daring debut novel...Emma Darwin's prose is golden and convincing. Addictive' -- Daily Express 'The reader is spellbound...electrifying...magical' -- Independent 'This sweeping tale of nineteenth-century war and courtship and twentieth-century teenage rebellion has a real flavour of its own that will grip you to the end...an accomplished, vividly realised debut' -- Marie Claire 'Intriguing...compelling...convincing' -- Publishing News '[An] absorbing historical novel of love and war...linked themes between the narratives flower - painting versus photography, female liberation versus repression, the complexities of love' -- Guardian 'Artful and absorbing...will fit comfortably beside Birdsong" or Captain Corelli's Mandolin'" -- Tatler 'Wonderfully perceptive...enthralling and beautifully written' -- Psychologies 'Thrilling...beautiful, compelling' -- Easy Living

Emma Darwin was born in 1964. Her first novel, The Mathematics of Love, was acclaimed in nine countries; A Secret Alchemy is her second. She lives in London.