The Poet’s Wife by Judith Allnatt

It is 1841. Patty is married to John Clare: peasant poet, genius and madman.

A beautifully written, crafted novel telling the story of Patty Turner, the poet John Clare’s long-suffering wife. Judith Allnatt seamlessly weaves her historical research into a poignant story, so sad it could have been written by Thomas Hardy, as her husband returns to search in vain for his childhood sweetheart, Mary Joyce, to whom he believes he is married.
Clare walks home to Northamptonshire from the asylum at High Beech, Essex where he has been staying for the past four years. The poet’s life is well documented; Patty’s is less known. Judith Allnatt has given this strong, caring woman a compassionate voice, speaking for all those who have lost loved ones debilitated in body, mind and spirit.