Category Archives: Press

Financial Times reviews ‘Pixie’

Financial Times reviews ‘Pixie’

Financial Times reviewer Susie Mesure gave Pixie a rave review! ‘All the best novelists are magicians, conjuring people from the printed page, but some, like Jill Dawson, are particular masters of the occult: bringing figures hidden from history to life. In Pixie, her engrossing 11th novel, Dawson’s forgotten focus is the occult artist Pamela Colman… Continue reading…

Jill Dawson writes about Pamela Colman Smith

Jill Dawson writes about Pamela Colman Smith

If you’ve ever turned to tarot cards to tell your future, it’s likely you were looking at the iconic illustrations of the Rider-Waite deck. But their creator has been largely forgotten. Here, Jill Dawson tells the story of an extraordinary life. The Independent, Saturday 7 March 2026 Read the article here Continue reading…

LANGUAGE OF BIRDS – FINANCIAL TIMES review

LANGUAGE OF BIRDS – FINANCIAL TIMES review

‘Sandra Rivett’s history has long been dismantled and dismissed by a press in thrall to the flashy Lucan lifestyle. Dawson’s insistence that she take prominence with this novel goes some way to achieving a balance, even as the aristocratic carelessness and coldness at the heart of the book prevails.’ – Catherine Taylor, Financial Times. Read… Continue reading…

iNEWS review of LANGUAGE OF BIRDS

iNEWS review of LANGUAGE OF BIRDS

‘In her highly engrossing new novel, Dawson gives powerful voice to someone silenced in history – the murdered nanny at the heart of the notorious case of Lord Lucan, who disappeared on the night of the murder.’ – iNews. Read the full review here. Continue reading…

Guardian review – LANGUAGE OF BIRDS

Guardian review – LANGUAGE OF BIRDS

‘The narrative’s progress towards the terrifying evening in the dark basement kitchen has the ineluctable pull of tragic myth. We know what must come, but this knowledge never detracts from the memorable beauty and intelligence of the novel. By focusing on the victim, Dawson allows us to completely rethink the original story in a way… Continue reading…

Spectator review of LANGUAGE OF BIRDS

Spectator review of LANGUAGE OF BIRDS

‘All in all, this beautifully written novel achieves its aim: it gives the victim back her voice.’ Read the full review here. Continue reading…

Daily Telegraph review of LANGUAGE OF BIRDS

Daily Telegraph review of LANGUAGE OF BIRDS

**** ‘Lady Morven and Mandy are superbly drawn characters…this is a sensitive and often beautifully written novel…Dawson’s greatest achievement is to breathe life into Sandra, emphasising that she would deserve our attention even if she had not met such a tragic end.’ Continue reading…

STYLIST review of LANGUAGE OF BIRDS

STYLIST review of LANGUAGE OF BIRDS

‘Jill Dawson’s fictional take on the affair quietly but firmly redresses the balance as she makes her heroine, Mandy River, a warm, intelligent and life-filled delight who is not a victim but a woman who clear-sightedly sees a family beset by problems and Lord Morven for exactly who he is. Conjuring a world of class… Continue reading…

RED online review of LANGUAGE OF BIRDS

RED online review of LANGUAGE OF BIRDS

‘In The Language Of Birds, Jill Dawson weaves a heartbreaking story of a young woman arriving in London to start afresh and look after the children of Lord and Lady Morven but soon finds herself a pawn in a bitter custody battle.’ Read the full review here. Continue reading…

LANGUAGE OF BIRDS Daily Mail review

LANGUAGE OF BIRDS Daily Mail review

Read the Daily Mail‘s review of LANGUAGE OF BIRDS here. ‘…this book is in a class of its own.’ Continue reading…