The Opposite of Falling

What if the thing you most fear is the only thing that can set you free? 
 
From Costa-shortlisted author of Inside the Whale comes the much-anticipated follow up to a bittersweet wartime love story.

It's a fine, funny, unfussy novel that pays overdue tribute to those magnificent women in their flying machines

A big-hearted paean to the adventure of discovering love ... Rooney's lightness of touch imbues her characters with poignancy and humour. Yet it's her ability to capture the ecstasy and fear of falling in love and rising to its expectations that makes this such a joy

As effortlessly as Proust or Forster, she incorporates unexpected aperçus

A fun read, the novel's charm lies in its quirky humour

This is poignant, quirky and delightfully original

This is an assured second novel - and wonderful company for that long-overdue summer trip

Imaginative and transporting, but entirely unfussy and unsentimental, the novel is written with a glint in the eye that gives it that extra bit of wind beneath its wings

Jennie Rooney was born in Liverpool in 1980. She read History at the University of Cambridge and taught English in France before moving to London to work as a lawyer. Her first novel, Inside the Whale, was a Richard and Judy debut choice, Tesco Book Club selection and shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award.

At Niagara Falls, Toby O'Hara offers rides over the rushing water in a red and blue striped hot air balloon. The balloon is a day job for Toby, his night work is to continue to perfect his father's design for a flying machine. 
 
On the other side of the Atlantic, Ursula Bridgewater, an independent woman from Liverpool, is ungraciously dumped by her fiancé. Ursula turns to the thrill of travel as an escape, and chooses a young orphan, Sally Walker, as her travelling companion. But Sally is never going to be quite as prepared for the land of freedom and opportunity as Ursula - and certainly not ready to accept Toby O'Hara's invitation to see Niagara from a great height. 
 
Together these indomitable characters are lifted by small acts of bravery to find - surprised and heartened - that what once seemed terrifying is in fact the opposite...

Inside the Whale

Fizzing with eclectic characters and poignant imagery, Inside the Whale is a story to relish, and a book you'll want to recommend with passion to everyone you know.

Fresh, funny and wise, balancing emotional turmoil with a vivid turn of phrase

Funny, sad, unputdownable - an absolute tour de force

An elegant, funny and moving first novel... a wonderful, memorable musing on life, fate and love

A deeply affecting story ... Rooney confidently moves between two narrators and shifting times, vividly recreating Blitz-torn London and the Africa of the same period

This heartfelt debut novel offers a witty twist on a WWII romance

Packed full of warm, spirited prose that captures the mood of doodlebug London, this is a total joy of a debut novel

Wonderful debut novel ... Guaranteed to sweep you away

It is funny, deceptively ambitious, robustly detailed and extremely sad

Add this to your list', 'this vivid story of lost love is tender, funny and hugely entertaining

A work of a singularly outlandish and compassionate imagination...the novel has one shouting its praises to anybody who is within earshot

Jennie Rooney was born in Liverpool in 1980. She read History at the University of Cambridge and taught English in France before moving to London to work as a lawyer. Inside the Whale, was a Richard and Judy debut choice, Tesco Book Club selection and shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award. Her other novels include The Opposite of Falling and, most recently, Red Joan.

Stephanie Stanford, recently widowed, must tell her family the truth. But the past is complicated and difficult to untangle. Meanwhile, Michael's memories are squashed into a shoebox (along with Queen Mathilda's Dickin Medal for Bravery - for pigeons) ready for his move to hospital. Michael has never been good at putting things into words; he's more comfortable with the click of Morse code. But Anna, a young healthcare assistant, has the patience - and rare tenderness - to eke out his story. And so he begins.

Jennie Rooney

A meditation on the secrets we keep... Red Joan's strength lies in the complex personal relationships that underpin the spying game... A powerfully-written exploration of the far-reaching consequences that even the smallest-seeming actions can have

A brilliant spy novel, with an unlikely culprit and a deft, involving plot...tense, beautifully pitched and very moving novel

Sensitive  spy thriller… Finely detailed and resolutely sensitive… This excellent period novel  still carries some considerable resonance in the age of Bradley Manning

If you loved William Boyd’s Restless, you’ll enjoy this

Compulsive reading... Rooney's approach it to make this a very personal story for Joan. There's love, loss, betrayal, friendship and secrets galore and it gives a believable insight on how one, normal person might be let to betray her country. The true mark of the story is that you find yourself thinking that you might have done exactly what Joan did in those circumstances

A gripping, emotional and expertly plotted spy novel of the Cold War, inspired by a real story. Beautifully written and clever

One of Britain's brightest young writing talents

A great thriller and a stirring love story

A gripping narrative and a compelling lead character...  This is an absorbing and accomplished novel

Rooney is a novelist at home with life’s ambiguities, her plotting pleasingly intricate, her narrative richly textured

An exciting and intelligent novel... Rooney's re-creation of the politics of the day is brilliant

Particulary acute on the muddle of emotion, reason and morality that festers around betrayal...compelling, impressively detailed story, with thrillerish overtones...

A wonderfully plotted spy drama full of intrigue and suspense… A fantastic read

A brilliant spy novel, with an unlikely culprit and a deft, involving plot... Tense, beautifully pitched and very moving

[A] polished, intricate novel… rich in moral ambiguity

This powerfully-written spy thriller is compulsive reading

A gripping spy novel with an unlikely culprit and a thoroughly researched basis in fact... Perfect for fans of William Boyd's Restless

‘If you loved William Boyd’s Restless, you’ll enjoy this’ Viv Groskop, Red 
 
 Cambridge University in 1937 is awash with ideas and idealists – to unworldly Joan it is dazzling. 
 
 After a chance meeting with Russian-born Sonya and Leo, Joan is swept up in the glamour and energy of the duo, and finds herself growing closer and closer to them both. 
 
 But allegiance is a slippery thing. Out of university and working in a government ministry with access to top-secret information, Joan finds her loyalty tested as she is faced with the most difficult question of all: what price would you pay to remain true to yourself? 
 
'A gripping, emotional and expertly plotted spy novel of the Cold War, inspired by a real story. Beautifully written and clever' Kate Mosse 
 
NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING JUDI DENCH AND SOPHIE COOKSON

Jennie Rooney

Praise for Red Joan

A meditation on the secrets we keep... Red Joan's strength lies in the complex personal relationships that underpin the spying game... A powerfully-written exploration of the far-reaching consequences that ev ...

A brilliant spy novel, with an unlikely culprit and a deft, involving plot...tense, beautifully pitched and very moving novel

Sensitive spy thriller… Finely detailed and resolutely sensitive… This excellent period novel still carries some considerable resonance in the age of Bradley Manning

A meditation on the secrets we keep... Red Joan's strength lies in the complex personal relationships that underpin the spying game... A powerfully-written exploration of the far-reaching consequences that ev ...

A brilliant spy novel, with an unlikely culprit and a deft, involving plot...tense, beautifully pitched and very moving novel

Sensitive spy thriller… Finely detailed and resolutely sensitive… This excellent period novel still carries some considerable resonance in the age of Bradley Manning

A meditation on the secrets we keep... Red Joan's strength lies in the complex personal relationships that underpin the spying game... A powerfully-written exploration of the far-reaching consequences that ev ...

A brilliant spy novel, with an unlikely culprit and a deft, involving plot...tense, beautifully pitched and very moving novel

Sensitive spy thriller… Finely detailed and resolutely sensitive… This excellent period novel still carries some considerable resonance in the age of Bradley Manning

Books by Jennie Rooney

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