Glass Houses

At once a love story and a simmering tale of class, identity, and masculinity * i paper, ‘Best Books of May 2024’ *
A razor-sharp commentary on social class, Welsh identity, and whether we have ownership over the places we come from. Through a dewy sheen of teen nostalgia, Reece deftly explores the weight of political events on individual lives. Her supple, visceral prose evokes North Wales in all its complexity, beautifully rendered in water, resin and sky – Jessica Andrews, author of Saltwater and Milk Teeth
Glass Houses has the rare quality of handling heavy subjects with a real lightness of touch - how people shape places and how places shape people in turn, how the complexities of cultural identity are braided into the complexities of selfhood, how what we own will so often, in the final reckoning, come to own us – Keiran Goddard, author of Hourglass
A magnificent, murderous grin of a novel: sharp-eyed and sharp-toothed in its modern appraisal of class and sexual tensions. Wittily, Reece shows us how hearts, houses and histories are claimed, and how many forms of capital are acquired by self-deception – Tom Benn, author of Oxblood
Glass Houses is such a beautifully observed novel. A story of class and misunderstanding for and of our time, it flits between the eras, the churning emotions of its characters and the pretensions of today with sadness, compassion and humour. Through dazzling descriptive language, Francesca Reece draws us into the heart of Wales and the pain of relationships that cannot be resisted – James Clarke, author of Sanderson’s Isle
It was so refreshing to read about North Wales in this way and I’ve never seen the Welsh language presented so naturally within the prose and dialogue - this place, these characters, this community feel so real to me. I’m glad this novel exists and I can’t wait for more people to discover this often overlooked history of our country. Gorgeously luscious and atmospheric, Gethin and Olwen are two characters that perfectly encapsulate the two halves of my heart and the gentle push and pull of North Wales – Gwenllian Ellis, author of Sgen I’m Syniad
A beautiful, compelling, intuitive voice – Adele Parks MBE * Platinum Magazine *
Desire, class and Welsh nationalism prove a combustible combination in this brooding literary romance… Flickers of menace are enhanced by atmospheric prose * Observer *
Forester Gethin Thomas acts as caretaker for Ty Gwydr, a stunning lakeside house that has stood empty for so long he considers it his own. When the owners decide to sell up - which coincides with the return of the girl who broke his heart - the upheaval throws him off course. A beautiful novel about class, first love and how places can define us * Good Housekeeping *
Explores the impact of gentrification and second homes in north Wales * Guardian *
A cinematic page-turner – Buzz Magazine

Francesca Reece is a writer from North Wales. Her debut novel, Voyeur, was published by Tinder Press in 2021. Her second novel Glass Houses was shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year. She was the 2019 recipient of the Desperate Literature Prize, and has had work featured in The London Magazine, Banshee, Literary Review, Elle UK and on BBC Short Works. She lives in London.

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