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Map Of The Damage
Already a Sunday Times bestselling author with her first novel, A Map of the Damage confirms Sophia Tobin as a rising star. This is stunning historical fiction for fans of Tracy Chevalier. London, 1941. Livy makes her way through Blitz-torn London to the Mirrormakers’ Club, the only place that makes her feels safe, where she finds herself drawn into the mystery of a missing diamond, and torn between two men with competing claims on her. London, 1841 . Charlotte is helped from the scene of an accident by a man who shows her a building he is working on, and whose kindness unlocks a hope she has long kept buried. But that man is not her husband. Two women, a century apart, united by one the Mirrormakers’ Club. A building which holds echoes of past loves and hates, and hides the darkest of secrets in its foundations.Praise for A Map of the Damage‘A beguiling tale of love and loss’ The Times‘ Instantly gripping , this novel holds you in its spell from first to last. I was desperate to learn the fates of every one of Tobin’s vivid, intriguing characters - I simply could not stop reading . Exceptional storytelling, full of heart, wisdom and passion. Unmissable’ Antonia Hodgson, author of The Devil in the Marshalsea'A wondrous , captivating novel… with depth, beguiling characters, and an enthralling, racing story, A Map of the Damage is a triumph ' Kate Mayfield, author of The Parentations' A Map of the Damage is a gripping mystery with a passionate Victorian love story at its centre. I found myself completely drawn into a world of creative obsession, dramatic romance, and a breathless quest for the truth. Sophia Tobin’s masterful storytelling kept me hooked throughout, and her vibrant characters and beautifully rendered historical settings made this a real pleasure to read' Sophie Hardach, author of Confession with Blue Horses'Sophia Tobin uses her beguiling creation, the Mirrormakers’ Club… to unite a vivid cast of characters from two eras. All are engaged in trying to solve a mystery that - with wonderful ingenuity on the part of the author - will finally be fully revealed only to the reader' Miranda FrancePraise for The Vanishing‘Undeniably page-turning’ Mail on Sunday'Think Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre , but ten times darker, and you have The Vanishing … as dark and eerie and gothic as the Yorkshire Moors it is set on. One to curl up by the fire with on a windy night’ Stylist‘Entertaining’ The Times‘ Vivid, absorbing and wonderfully gothic , with shades of Sarah Waters and Emily and Charlotte Brontë’ Kate Riordan‘Atmosphere aplenty and some real surprises’ Daily Mail ‘Echoes Wuthering Heights with its setting and sense of intrigue’ Red‘A vivid sense of the period… which stays with the reader long after the final page’ the i
432 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2019
6 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
Sophia Tobin
8 books51 followersSophia Tobin was raised on the Isle of Thanet in Kent. Having graduated from the Open University, she moved to London to study History of Art, then worked for a Bond Street antique dealer for six years, specialising in silver and jewellery. Inspired by her research into a real eighteenth-century silversmith, Tobin began to write The Silversmith’s Wife, which was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish College Fiction Prize, judged by Sophie Hannah and Professor Janet Todd. It was published by Simon & Schuster in January 2014.
Tobin’s second novel, The Widow’s Confession, will be published in January 2015. She works in a library and lives in London with her husband.
Tobin’s second novel, The Widow’s Confession, will be published in January 2015. She works in a library and lives in London with her husband.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 7, 2019
It’s 1940 London during the Blitz. Livy has lost her memory during the latest bombing and heads to a familiar place – the Mirrormaker’s Club where she learns it is where she had worked as a secretary. The building is partially destroyed but she is given refuge in the building with the caretakers. Mr. Whitewood, a wealthy member of the club’s board of directors, arrives looking for a hidden diamond believed to be somewhere in the club and Livy offers to help him solve the mystery. This gripping work of historical fiction also takes us to 1841 where Whitewood’s great grandfather has gifted his wife the 35-carat Kinsburg Diamond, a present that is meant more to display his wealth than his affection. She yearns for true love and passion and discovers some hope of happiness when she meets a young architect working on a new building – The Mirrormaker’s Club. A satisfying, quick read.
September 17, 2019
Another terrific read from Ms Tobin. 1941 Livy's house is destroyed in an air raid and she loses her memory. Finding her way to the Mirrormakers club she discovers that she work there. When a descendant of the original owner of the club turns up on the trail of a missing diamond Livy offers to help search the archives for clues to its where-abouts. 1841 Charlotte wife of the owner of the mirrormakers club finds herself in an emotionally abusive marriage and embarks on an affair with the architect of the club with tragic consequences. terrific read.
October 16, 2019
This is a truly remarkable book one which I couldn’t put down enjoyed start to finish and was a good read for a commute. You enjoyed the details the small details which made it and then you enjoyed the mystery behind the diamond and the flitting back and forth was nothing short of amazing and something which I throughly enjoyed!
April 18, 2020
London, 1941. The Blitz. Livy’s home is destroyed during a bombing and her memory has failed her. She heads to The Mirrormakers’ Club and it’s familiarity where she soon discovers she had previously worked there.
Mr Whitewood, a descendant of the original owner soon arrives and Livy is taken in by the story of a missing diamond and agree’s to help him in solving his mystery.
This gripping historical novel also transports you to 1841, where Mr Whitewood’s Great Grandfather, Ashton gifts the Kinsburg diamond to his wife, Charlotte.
Charlotte, trapped in an emotionally abusive relationship longs for love, passion and happiness, she soon discovers glimpses of these when she meets Henry, the architect for The Mirrormakers’ Club.
💎
I absolutely loved this fascinating story with its complex and intricate characters from two different points in history all woven together.
This mystery starts off slow but don’t let that put you off, it mesmerised me and drew me in and before long, I was devouring it in huge chunks. I absolutely love fiction that transports you to different times and this again, was no exception. Each chapter flowed into the next so effortlessly.
I found myself longing for Livy’s memory to return because I knew there was more to her than we were first introduced to.
💎
I would definitely recommend this book if like me you are drawn to both historical fiction and a good mystery.
💎
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for my gifted proof copy in exchange for an honest review.
Mr Whitewood, a descendant of the original owner soon arrives and Livy is taken in by the story of a missing diamond and agree’s to help him in solving his mystery.
This gripping historical novel also transports you to 1841, where Mr Whitewood’s Great Grandfather, Ashton gifts the Kinsburg diamond to his wife, Charlotte.
Charlotte, trapped in an emotionally abusive relationship longs for love, passion and happiness, she soon discovers glimpses of these when she meets Henry, the architect for The Mirrormakers’ Club.
💎
I absolutely loved this fascinating story with its complex and intricate characters from two different points in history all woven together.
This mystery starts off slow but don’t let that put you off, it mesmerised me and drew me in and before long, I was devouring it in huge chunks. I absolutely love fiction that transports you to different times and this again, was no exception. Each chapter flowed into the next so effortlessly.
I found myself longing for Livy’s memory to return because I knew there was more to her than we were first introduced to.
💎
I would definitely recommend this book if like me you are drawn to both historical fiction and a good mystery.
💎
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for my gifted proof copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 20, 2021
Having recently read 'The Vanishing', the characters are rather too similar; an impressionable girl with inner strength, torn between the attentions of a ruthless 'gent' and a more lowly but sincere lover.
The blitz provides an interesting context to the story. The girl is attempting to identify the location of a diamond, lost a century before. In the process, she uncovers a love triangle which rather too exactly mirrors her own. Will she recover her memory before she has lost her own reputation and her mind?
Readable but not subtle- I did found myself skimming to find out how the story would be resolved!
The blitz provides an interesting context to the story. The girl is attempting to identify the location of a diamond, lost a century before. In the process, she uncovers a love triangle which rather too exactly mirrors her own. Will she recover her memory before she has lost her own reputation and her mind?
Readable but not subtle- I did found myself skimming to find out how the story would be resolved!
June 11, 2020
I'm pleased to share my review for one of my all time favourite time slip historical fiction books. Thank you to Simon and Schuster UK for a paperback copy - my thoughts are my own and are not influenced by the gift.
Having studied modern history at school, we always studied what happened up until August 1939 - the many causes of the Second World War, but never what actually happened during the War. I believe that Sophia Tobin has captured the feel of the Blitz in this book - how lives were changed in a split second during the bombings and how people fought to save historical buildings, often putting their own lives at risk to do so. Livy has lost her memory after a near death experience and finds herself helping at the Mirrormakers' Club where she once worked.
A century earlier, Charlotte, in Victorian England, is helped at the scene of an accident by the architect of the Mirrormakers' Club. This chance encounter leads to a set of events which will change the course of history for both Charlotte and Livy.
This book had me hooked very quickly, I didn't want to put it down. So many mysteries to be uncovered, so many secrets had been kept and there is one building full of clues to both stories. I loved the historical details - it was easy to feel that you were in the middle of an air raid or in salon de printemps at Redlands.
If you enjoy historical fiction /romantic fiction/ mysteries, then please read a copy of A Map of the Damage. If you have read other books by Sophia Tobin, I would love to hear your thoughts - I've added them to my wish list.
Having studied modern history at school, we always studied what happened up until August 1939 - the many causes of the Second World War, but never what actually happened during the War. I believe that Sophia Tobin has captured the feel of the Blitz in this book - how lives were changed in a split second during the bombings and how people fought to save historical buildings, often putting their own lives at risk to do so. Livy has lost her memory after a near death experience and finds herself helping at the Mirrormakers' Club where she once worked.
A century earlier, Charlotte, in Victorian England, is helped at the scene of an accident by the architect of the Mirrormakers' Club. This chance encounter leads to a set of events which will change the course of history for both Charlotte and Livy.
This book had me hooked very quickly, I didn't want to put it down. So many mysteries to be uncovered, so many secrets had been kept and there is one building full of clues to both stories. I loved the historical details - it was easy to feel that you were in the middle of an air raid or in salon de printemps at Redlands.
If you enjoy historical fiction /romantic fiction/ mysteries, then please read a copy of A Map of the Damage. If you have read other books by Sophia Tobin, I would love to hear your thoughts - I've added them to my wish list.
September 15, 2019
3.5 stars. Good for fans of Kate Morton.
November 1, 2019
I got this book as it was compared to Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, only darker.
I couldn't find any similarity to either of them. It was an okay read though.
I couldn't find any similarity to either of them. It was an okay read though.
April 7, 2020
A fantastic story interweaving wonderful characters through two periods of history. I loved it!
September 18, 2022
Simpering. Helen Dunmore, this is not.
October 19, 2025
# 4th book read by ST….time slip of 1841-1941.
According to reviews there are undertones of Wuthering heights & Jane Eyre,then yes there were if you call a building being destroyed (Thornfield Hall, Jane Eyre)and a married woman loving another man ( Cathy in Wuthering Heights), and it certainly wasn’t gothic in my opinion.
The characters from 1841 were wooden, boring and seeking status, 1941 characters were more human and likeable with a bit of gusto about them, there storyline kept me going.
The description of the club made me dizzy with all the different rooms.
The plot in theory was good but ending was weak.
Would I read this again…. No
Would I recommend it…. Not sure
A ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ rating , but only just.
According to reviews there are undertones of Wuthering heights & Jane Eyre,then yes there were if you call a building being destroyed (Thornfield Hall, Jane Eyre)and a married woman loving another man ( Cathy in Wuthering Heights), and it certainly wasn’t gothic in my opinion.
The characters from 1841 were wooden, boring and seeking status, 1941 characters were more human and likeable with a bit of gusto about them, there storyline kept me going.
The description of the club made me dizzy with all the different rooms.
The plot in theory was good but ending was weak.
Would I read this again…. No
Would I recommend it…. Not sure
A ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ rating , but only just.
November 16, 2020
In 1840 an elaborate building is being constructed in the City of London. One hundred years later the same building is being destroyed by bombs and incendiaries in the blitz. Sophia Tobin's book alternates between the two time frames, in both of which we find love triangles linked to the building's secrets and to each other. Sort of.
I'm fascinated by both these periods and I thought the central idea was so clever that I had high hopes for this - so much so that I left it on my TBR pile saving it for a time when I thought I'd need to lose myself in something really, really good. Maybe I built it up too much, but even if I'd had no expectations I think I would have been underwhelmed.
You'll never meet six more boring central characters so inexplicably infatuated with each other. Since all the motivations in the story arise from their overwhelming attractions to each other, if you don't believe them it's quite hard to get swept away by the weird plot, which becomes almost Dickensian in its coincidences and contrivances by the end.
The style is also quite overwrought. One of the things I find so compelling about stories set in such momentous times is that 'ordinary' people readily found themselves in extraordinary situations, but I want some sense of how that might actually have felt. Here the language occasionally borders on melodrama - women look at men and feel torn between kissing them or slapping them and men ask women in post-coital embraces: "who taught you how to take pleasure like that?"
I think if you like obsessional romances and don't mind the odd tenuous plot development, you might really enjoy this. She does capture the social mores of the two periods well and it's interesting how the differences are contrasted, but sadly it didn't do it for me.
I'm fascinated by both these periods and I thought the central idea was so clever that I had high hopes for this - so much so that I left it on my TBR pile saving it for a time when I thought I'd need to lose myself in something really, really good. Maybe I built it up too much, but even if I'd had no expectations I think I would have been underwhelmed.
You'll never meet six more boring central characters so inexplicably infatuated with each other. Since all the motivations in the story arise from their overwhelming attractions to each other, if you don't believe them it's quite hard to get swept away by the weird plot, which becomes almost Dickensian in its coincidences and contrivances by the end.
The style is also quite overwrought. One of the things I find so compelling about stories set in such momentous times is that 'ordinary' people readily found themselves in extraordinary situations, but I want some sense of how that might actually have felt. Here the language occasionally borders on melodrama - women look at men and feel torn between kissing them or slapping them and men ask women in post-coital embraces: "who taught you how to take pleasure like that?"
I think if you like obsessional romances and don't mind the odd tenuous plot development, you might really enjoy this. She does capture the social mores of the two periods well and it's interesting how the differences are contrasted, but sadly it didn't do it for me.
July 20, 2024
I'm fond of books that show how the issues and conflicts of one era are revisited in a later time period. Sometimes these issues are resolved. Sometimes they are remarkably static and other times they hint at an individual's victory over society's restrictions. The problem remains but a few lucky individuals have escaped it.
Part of this book is love story pieced together from the archives in 1841 Victorian England.. . .to finish review later. . .saving.
Part of this book is love story pieced together from the archives in 1841 Victorian England.. . .to finish review later. . .saving.
July 15, 2022
Evocative, intriguing. Wonderful read
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews