The Uncommon Reader

Rich in anecdote and knowledge, this is an exceptional biography of an exceptional human being. – John Carey * Sunday Times *
[I]t rescues from obscurity one of the great English literary taste-makers of the twentieth century, and in the process sheds new light on some important writers, paints a portrait of the London publishing scene that remained largely unchanged until the big corporate buy-ups of the 1980s and 90s, and presents a character – Garnett himself – who is interesting, charming and impressive. – Andrew Motion * Times Literary Supplement *
Essential reading for anyone who cares about modernism. – Claire Lowdon * Sunday Times Literature Book of the Year 2017 *
Well-researched, neatly written and not above the occasional flash of sly humour. – D.J. Taylor * Guardian *
There is a nugget on every page of Smith’s biography. She spirits up the whole jealous, bitching, scribbling literary world of the age. – Laura Freeman * The Times *
Helen Smith is to be congratulated on having written a masterly and highly readable biography of Edward Garnett … The Uncommon Reader is required reading. – Henrietta Garnett, granddaughter of Edward Garnett * Literary Review *
A superb biography of Edward Garnett … Smith has an eye for the telling detail … and her book paints a textured picture of what life was like for people of Garnett’s milieu … Readers will end up loving Garnett. With Smith’s fine sense of pacing and a fascinating subject, her book both delights and informs. * Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW *
A sensitive biography of an influential editor and critic … In her assured literary debut, Smith … draws on Garnett’s copious correspondence, critical writings, and memoirs of those who knew him to create a finely etched portrait of a man who exerted a quiet, decisive influence on arts and letters. * Kirkus *
An alternative history of British modernism. – D.J Taylor * The Tablet *
A very rounded and humane portrait. – Diarmaid Ferriter * Irish Independent *

Helen Smith lives in Norfolk and teaches non-fiction and modern literature at the University of East Anglia. The Uncommon Reader- A Life of Edward Garnett is her first book; it received a RSL-Jerwood Award for Non-Fiction in 2011.

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