A Hundred Small Lessons - Hardcover

"The Railwayman's Wife is a beautifully attentive study of what comes after - after a funeral, after a war - and Ashley Hay is a wise and gracious guide through this fascinating territory. This is a book in which grief and love are so entwined they make a new and wonderful kind of sense."--Fiona McFarlane, author of The Night Guest

"The Railwayman's Wife is a fine evocation of place and time - a vivid love letter to a particular corner of post-war Australia. Ashley Hay writes with subtle insight about grief and loss and the heart's voyage through and beyond them. It's a lovely, absorbing, and uplifting read."--M.L. Stedman, author of The Light Between Oceans

Praise for The Railwayman's Wife

"Exquisitely written and deeply felt, The Railwayman's Wife is limpid and deep as the rock pools on the coastline beloved by this book's characters and just as teeming with vibrant life. Ashley Hay's novel of love and pain is a true book of wonders."--Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Secret Chord

"If home is where the heart is, when does a house become a home--or, conversely, stop being one? Two women struggle to find the answer...Elsie's aging memories give the book a timeless sense of marriage and motherhood and perhaps a flicker of what Lucy may find in her future. The home that Elsie must give up with regret, Lucy must learn to love. This is typical of Hay who slowly weaves a tale of past and present lives, exploring the sense that the gap between the two women is not impervious to sensitive souls. Both Elsie and Lucy are finely and sympathetically drawn, and their lives highlight issues that affect many women. A cerebral tale, slow-moving but profound."--Kirkus

"A book that overflows with gratitude for the hard, beautiful things of this world, and for the saving worlds of our imagination."--Helen Garner, award-winning author of Everywhere I Look

"A luminous evocation of ordinary lives and the city that shapes them. Ashley Hay brings a pointillist eye to the daily miracles of love, of chance, of belonging."--Kristina Olsson "award-winning author of Boy, Lost "

"Numerous scenes in this thoughtful novel will linger in the reader's memory...A lyrically written portrayal of the lives of two women tied together by memories and the house they share, A Hundred Small Lessons is sure to be enjoyed by readers of Kate Morton."--BookPage (Top Pick)

"Hay's prose is stunningly, shatteringly beautiful, and the emotional punch she delivers as the women's paths ultimately converge makes this seemingly quiet novel a breathless and powerful read."--San Francisco Book Review

"If you haven't read anything by Ashley Hay, you are in for a treat her language is lyrical, the lives she creates are authentic, her words are a delight to read. This is another delightful book from a very talented writer."--WAMC Radio

"This contemplative novel explores the emotions of saying goodbye to a life of familiarity and embracing the unknown...Readers who loved the quiet introspection of Anita Shreve's The Pilot's Wife and Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge will enjoy the detailed emotional journeys of Hay's characters. Their stories will linger long after the final page is turned."--Library Journal