-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
After the start of the Civil War, Emily Hudson - an orphan who lost her family to consumption and fever - finds herself the begrudged guest at the home of her relatives in Newport. Emily's longing to be an artist is dismissed by her puritanical uncle, who wants nothing more than to rid himself of her through marriage. Her only friend is her aesthete cousin, William, an ailing young writer. When a promising engagement to the eligible Captain Lindsay is broken, William rescues Emily from an uncertain future by taking her to England. Lonely and desperate to escape her cousin-once her confidante, now her obsessively controlling patron-Emily sets out alone to meet her destiny in the eternal city of Rome.
Reminiscent of the novels of Edith Wharton, Emily Hudson is an exquisitely told tale about a heroine struggling to be true to herself, and also find love in a society where only marriage or an independent income guaranteed a woman the freedom to do as she pleased.
"Jones skillfully moves her heroine from freewheeling and childlike to cautious and deceptive and back again, and when the happy ending comes, it feels organic and hard-won." - Publishers Weekly
"Unless the British author's previous novels are in high demand by patrons, save the funds." - Library Journal
"Comparisons will be made with The Outcast, the acclaimed debut by the novelist's sister, Sadie Jones. The narrative prose here is more dense and the use of the epistolary form provides a multi-layered perspective. The psychological tension subtly takes hold of the reader and does not let go. This is a wonderful book and it will not disappoint." - The Independent (UK)
This information about Emily Hudson was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Melissa Jones is the daughter of the Jamaican poet and screenwriter Evan Jones, and the sister of novelist Sadie Jones. She lives in an Essex village in England with her husband and two children. This book was originally published in the UK as The Hidden Heart of Emily Hudson.
If you liked Emily Hudson, try these:
by Ivy Pochoda
Published 2026
A deliciously dark horror reimagining of a Greek tragedy, by Ivy Pochoda, winner of the LA Times Book Prize.
by Emily Henry
Published 2026
Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping novel from Emily Henry.
by Emily Ruskovich
Published 2017
From O. Henry Prize–winning author Emily Ruskovich comes a stunning debut novel about love and forgiveness, about the violence of memory and the equal violence of its loss.
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
