Jennifer Galvao

Read the first three pages of this novel. You will wonder if the momentum can possibly be sustained, if the fire started at the opening can burn all the way to the end. The answer is yes on both counts. Maria, Maria is breathtaking.

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, author of PINEAPPLE STREET

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

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

A truly extraordinary novel. I loved the rich storytelling, the emotional and psychological depth of her characters, and the unputdownable, page-turning quality.

A beautiful, tender story of love, grief and penmanship' Pandora Sykes

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

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 Costa Book Awards)

Such an astonishingly vivid evocation of a particular time and of an impoverished rural community. Jennifer Galvão's lust for detail is quite something and yet she deftly allows her research to imbue and not dominate.

I found Maria, Maria to be a beautifully written, atmospheric novel. Jennifer has such a keen ear for the humour, tragedy and tenderness in the small, profound events that shape our lives. I really loved how she never takes the easy route as a storyteller, but holds fast to the complexity of the truth - as a result the book is both subtly told and entirely transporting, a balance it's not easy to find.

Emily Howes, author of THE PAINTER'S DAUGHTERS

I loved this beautiful sensuous novel. It is a world suspended in time, rich with scents, colors and the agonies and ecstasies of longing.

Miranda Cowley Heller, author of THE PAPER PALACE

Original, richly observed and lyrical, Maria, Maria takes us to fascinating, rarely explored corners of history and the heart. Such an accomplished debut.

ML Stedman, author of THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS and A FAR-FLUNG LIFE

An immersive evocation of post war rural Portugal, the shipping community of St John’s Newfoundland, and the unfathomable complexity of the human heart. Compassionate, heartbreaking, never sentimental. Absolutely loved it.

Jo Browning Wroe, author of A TERRIBLE KINDNESS

Beautiful, compelling, and emotionally convincing on every page. This novel broke my heart and handed it back to me whole, and stronger.

A brilliantly assured debut novel. Galvao's exceptional writing immerses the reader completely in the lives of these rich, full-blooded characters, whose heart and spirit leap from the page. Tender, passionate, and somehow both intimate and expansive, Maria, Maria will stay with me for a long time.

Lori Inglis Hall, author of THE SHOCK OF THE LIGHT

I came up from these cold waters gasping for air. So lush, vivid and gorgeous that I was plunged into another place and time, and did not want to leave. A wonderfully assured debut. I loved it.

Charlotte McConaghy, author of WILD DARK SHORE

Maria, Maria is a tender love story told in ink and salt. Galvão sweeps the reader from the sun-drenched fields of Portugal to the wind-swept coast of Newfoundland in rich, luscious prose. These pages fizz with bold storytelling, sensuous details, and sharp, surprising characters. A soaring tale of love, longing and desire.

Lucy Steeds, author of THE ARTIST, winner of the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2025

I’m convinced Jennifer Galvão has had many lives. This book would be a staggering act of imagination and heart for a seasoned author. It feels supernatural as a debut. Every few years a novel comes along that makes you feel the human experience is bigger and wilder than you previously understood. This is that book.

'Breathtaking.' 
ANN PATCHETT 
 
'A tremendous achievement.' 
ANN NAPOLITANO, author of Hello Beautiful 
 
'A soaring tale of love, longing and desire.' 
LUCY STEEDS, author of The Artist 
 
'Beautiful, sensuous ... a world suspended in time.' 
MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER, author of The Paper Palace 
 
'Made me think of Elena Ferrante - it's that good.' 
CLARE LESLIE HALL, author of Broken Country 
 
'Sweeping yet intimate, heart-breaking yet hopeful.' 
JENNIE GODFREY, author of The List of Suspicious Things 
 
'Takes us to fascinating, rarely explored corners of history and the heart.' 
M L STEDMAN, author of The Light Between Oceans and A Far-Flung Life 
 
'A beautiful, tender story of love, grief and penmanship.' 
PANDORA SYKES 
 
'Lush, vivid and gorgeous.' 
CHARLOTTE McCONAGHY, author of Wild Dark Shore 
 
'Tender, sensual, thrilling.' 
SARA COLLINS, author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton 
 
'Simply a marvel.' 
JENNY JACKSON, author of Pineapple Street 
 
Amidst the vast, sunlit cornfields of Portugal, Maria Lucilia receives a letter. The note is from her husband, Benedito da Silva, who is in exile – serving a punishing seven-year sentence as a fisherman with the White Fleet. But Bene cannot read or write. 
 
In the icy port town of St John’s, Newfoundland, another woman welcomes Bene into her life and composes a letter to a stranger across the sea. Maria Alvares, a widowed shopkeeper, knows the uneasy power she wields – the other woman, lending a voice for the man she loves to reach the wife he left behind. 
 
Though thousands of miles stand between them, the two Marias are drawn irresistibly to know each other. Slowly, in the margins and footnotes of the letters, a deep connection emerges: fears, hopes, and secrets neither woman has spoken aloud. What grows between them has the power to sustain – or undo – them both. 
 
Intimate, atmospheric, and infused with a powerful yearning, Maria, Maria is inspired by a piece of the author’s own family history. Jennifer Galvão's debut novel is a story of hope and endurance – in which the deepest bonds form not between lovers, but rivals.

Jennifer Galvao

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