This is a lovely book. I enjoyed the way Glasfurd depicted the life of a woman who could very well be lost to history.

This was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it. thanks for letting me have an advance copy. I'm new to this author.

Perfect for those interested in learning more about famous people from the perspective of their more or less unknown partners. This is the story of Helene, who was with Rene Descartes. Not an easy position but she was a strong woman. A good education read that might send you to google more about his work,

Unfortunately, I read this book back in 2017 but completely forgot to upload a review on here, so can't remember exactly what I was going to say about it!

In one of my recent reviews, I wrote about debuts and how fortunate we readers are to live in a time that constantly gives us more and more examples of authors whose first forays to the world of Literature are exceptional. This novel by Guinevere Glasfurd is one more token of our wonderful, exciting reading era.

Helena is a young woman, living in the Netherlands, during the 17th century. She is quite different and quite ahead of her time. She craves knowledge and has taught herself to read and write. However, she is forced to travel to Amsterdam to become a maid in order to financially support her mother and finds herself in the enterprise of an English bookseller. One day, the famous René Descartes arrives as a temporary lodger and from that moment on, the book examines the difficult relationship between the Dutch girl and the French philosopher.

Glasfurd weaves the story around the love affair between the main characters, but the novel never becomes a romance, not even close. She has done a wonderful job with the characters and their interactions. In the heroine’s portrayal, she has achieved the perfect balance because Helena tries to achieve independence and fulfillment of her thirst for a better life but -faithful to the context of the era- she never manages to escape the various social constraints. It is often that we see female characters in historical novels who aren’t realistic and have turned out too modern. Here, this doesn’t happen and fortunately so, because her point of view is our sole eyes to the story and her ideas are clearly in the foreground.

Descartes is a man of thought, coming to grips with reality with great difficulty. He is a loner, desperate to communicate his ideas, a man who doubts the established system. His relationship with Helena causes him to challenge his perspective, but there are limits. He has his mission but finds a new kind of fulfillment in Helena’s presence. She challenges his world view up to a point and forces him to question all the beliefs he had taken for granted.

When the setting is the beautiful country of the Netherlands, then it becomes a character in itself.Here, our focus isn’t just Amsterdam. We travel to Deventer, Leiden, Santpoort and Amersfoort. The descriptions are so vivid that I could picture the cities, I could smell the market odours, I could feel the crisp, wintry air. There is an absolutely stunning text where Descartes describes the snowflakes whose beauty and poetry drove away the heatwave we’re currently experiencing in Athens.

The interactions are well-composed, the dialogues a successful mixture of clear language that balances daily speech and period speech. The voices of the characters are fully ‘’heard’’, the details of the everyday life of the era create a beautiful background. The writer achieved to bring fact and fiction together in harmony and managed to highlight the issues of a woman’s struggle to find her place in a world made by men for men, the search of knowledge, the responsibility and self-sacrifice of being a single parent, the eternal fight between Thought and Action.

I admit I am very fond of novels that are set in the Netherlands, but I can’t help it. There is something in that particular setting that provides a distinctive aura to a novel. Glasfurd’s book is as beautiful and fluid as the waters of Amstel in the dusk, as the flickering lights on its surface…

The French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes is well known, but how many people have heard of Helena Jans van der Strom? Helena was in a relationship with Descartes for over a decade and played an important role in his life, yet she has been given little attention by historians and the information we have about her is very limited. In The Words in My Hand, Guinevere Glasfurd attempts to redress the balance and gives Helena a voice, building a fictional story around the known facts.

At the beginning of the novel, Helena, a young Dutch woman, is working as a maid in the Amsterdam home of Mr Sergeant, an English bookseller. There are not many options open to girls of Helena’s class in the 17th century, which is why she has entered service, but, possessing a natural intelligence and curiosity, she is teaching herself to read and write, spelling out the words on the palm of her hand in the absence of paper.

Some excitement comes into Helena’s life one day in 1634 when Mr Sergeant takes in a new lodger – René Descartes, whom Helena thinks of only as the Monsieur. Getting to know the Monsieur is not easy as he is fiercely guarded by his valet, the Limousin (who takes his name from his place of birth), but eventually he and Helena become friends – and then something more than friends.

The Words in My Hand explores the relationship between Helena and Descartes, suggesting possible answers to the many questions that arise. What qualities did Helena have that made her attractive to Descartes? What did they teach other and learn from each other? What was the significance of the role she played in his life and he in hers? It is often a difficult relationship and not a very equal one either – it can’t be, because of their very different positions in society. It’s obvious that Descartes cares about Helena, but he is reluctant to give her the sort of conventional family life she would like, so she accepts what he is prepared to offer instead. She refers to him throughout the entire novel as the Monsieur and never as René, which says a lot about the barriers between them which are never quite broken down. It’s not a particularly romantic love affair and Helena deserves something better, but it feels realistic for the time period.

Other characters are pulled into Helena’s story too including Betje, a fellow maid whom she befriends and tries to introduce to the joys of reading and writing. I was particularly intrigued by the uneasy interactions between Helena and the Limousin, Descartes’ valet. And of course, I should mention the setting – I often seem to be drawn to historical fiction set in the Netherlands and I thought Guinevere Glasfurd captured the atmosphere of the time and place very well. I really enjoyed this book (despite feeling annoyed with Descartes at times); it was published in 2016 and is Guinevere Glasfurd’s only novel so far, but I hope she is going to write more.

Helena Jans is a maid in Amsterdam in the house of a bookseller.  Rene Descartes comes to stay.  She is an illiterate servant with a thirst to learn and he is a famous philosopher.  This is a romance but not a soppy romance.  This is Guinevere Glasfurd's first novel and she has used the real facts that Descartes did spend time in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century and spun out the hidden tale of a poor woman.  She was so good at evoking the sense of deep chill of winter that I needed to cuddle up under a blanket even though it was summer.

What a wonderful compelling read. This is a book to savour.. A literary gem. I read it in two days but will now enjoy reading it again, more slowly. I will choose it as my Book Group choice this Summer. Helena and the Monsieur come to life as do the trials and tribulations of some of those who questioned the status quo in The Enlightenment period. Alongside The Enlightenment stands the challenges and frustrations of ordinary women who were denied access to education. Helena is far from ordinary, an engaging, hard-working girl who yearns to be able to write, who feels words: 'words that shone like amber', words that 'prickled', words that 'were made of sparks'. A five star read which deserves any prize or accolade it gets.. Secondary feedback: This wonderful read was my Book Group choice for June. It is rare that everyone in the Group likes the choice of book. How different this was. Almost everyone said that once they started reading the novel they couldn't put it down. They all really loved the book. We loved the style, the peripheral characters were really well drawn. The writing was fluent, unpretentious yet sophisticated. We waait with anticipation for Guinevere Glasfurd's next book..

What an amazingly evocative piece of writing. The language is so perfect in places that all senses are awoken. Descriptions of the laborious work, particularly that of making quills and of creating ink were utterly experiential, whilst an acknowledgement of the hardship experienced by a woman of Helena's class at that time. It was interesting to learn about Descartes but Helena is the true hero of the piece.

The blurb:

The Words in My Hand is the reimagined true story of Helena Jans, a Dutch maid in 17th-century Amsterdam, who works for Mr Sergeant the English bookseller. When a mysterious and reclusive lodger arrives – the Monsieur – Mr Sergeant insists everything must be just so. It transpires that the Monsieur is René Descartes.

This is Helena's story: the woman in front of Descartes, a young woman who yearns for knowledge, who wants to write so badly she makes ink from beetroot and writes in secret on her skin – only to be held back by her position in society.

Weaving together the story of Descartes' quest for reason with Helena's struggle for literacy, their worlds overlap as their feelings deepen; yet remain sharply divided. For all Descartes' learning, it is Helena he seeks out as she reveals the surprise in the everyday world that surrounds him.

When reputation is everything and with so much to lose, some truths must remain hidden. Helena and Descartes face a terrible tragedy and ultimately have to decide if their love is possible at all.

I'm really not sure how to review this book. It's very well written yet it's not the sort of book I would normally read. and I just think what was the point. I feel like I've wasted time on reading this. Sorry it's not for me. 2.5*

Partsof this book I loved. Those involving Descartes I didn't!
Helena is a maid who moves form her small town to Amsterdam where she works for a bookseller who has a famous lodger join the household. The working day and activities en route tomarket or church are lovley, but when the self-important philosopherenters Ifound it less so.He is of the ilk that feels he and his reputation are paramount. Unfortunatley for Helenashe becomes attached to him and thus assures herself ofheartache and shabby treatment. She should have taken heed that anyone inflicting cruelty on animals and then lying about theri ability to feel pain is a foretast of his lack of compassion.
Usingthe book'sl link tothe author's websiteonecanseepictures ofthe places Helena discussesand learn what is historical and howmuch is fiction. I really enjoyed that party of it

A very enjoyable read, amazing first book debut! A must read for history fans.

Set in the 17th century, Helena is a Dutch maid who became the lover of philosopher René Descartes.

Given a job because she can read then delegated to the kitchen with no access to books or writing materials, she makes her own ink and writes on her skin!

A French lodger arrives at the house, he has a valet, this is not the usual lodger. In time they become lovers He is Descartes a philosopher and she a maid. She raises their child in secret!

At a time when women of low birth had no education, few rights and no hope of recognition, Helena is so strong and brave and different. Her days in squalor with such hardship are detailed, it's depressingly real but she battles on. I can't imagine how a girl who can write and yearns for education can survive this life of servitude.

I can't say Descartes as a man appeals to me but I know little of his life and intend to correct that now.

I couldn't put this book down. If you enjoyed The Girl with the pearl earring you should read this. The descriptions are gorgeous, masses of excellent research must have been done because I was transported there in a page!

I just loved it.

Being from Amsterdam myself, I loved reading this story! The description of the canals, Westermarkt - as opposed to the far smaller city center of Amersfoort (where I am currently living) were accurate, but more importantly: added to the scenery of this book. It gave it a pleasant context in the background. I loved how Glasfurd weaved these details into the lives of the characters and their stories. And beautifully written as well:

''That's better. Four, five, six. Six radii. Perfect hexagonal structures.' Hexagonal - what a word. If it had a taste, it would taste of cherry."

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

A story based in speculation about facts – what caused Descartes to have a friendship with Helena, a maid? And how did Helena manage to learn to read and write when it was extremely uncommon amongst women of the Quality, let alone a maid?
Well, the author has made some suggestions within this book that link the facts in a way that makes total sense – with perhaps a little embroidery here and there, just to flesh out the known characters and known occurrences.
This is a sensitive tale of a young girl, Helena, who is forced by family circumstances to become a maid in the household of a bookseller in 1635.
Helena narrates this story as it happens to her and she tells us of the way in which she manages the household and her work, and how she learnt the rudiments of reading and writing (on her hand for lack of knowledge or access to, paper, quills, and ink) from her brother who was schooled by tutors.
The bookseller, Mr Sergeant, ekes out his living by renting the attic rooms of his house to like minded gentlemen and thus Descartes comes to stay. And Helena encounters him and his servant, and learns to write properly. All this at a time when paper was extremely expensive and not for the ‘common sort’ to have access to.
Helena and her maid friend, who she teaches to read and write, wonder what life would be like if all women could read and write. Perhaps they could then manage their own businesses and not be dependent on men for their livelihood and income? A world that they do not get to see. As they live in a world where books are still extremely expensive and a man (never a woman) who has a library of 100 books is considered a scholar and wealthy.
Meeting Descartes changes Helena’s life forever, and not just because she learns to read and write properly.
I found this a fascinating and sensitive story and could not put it down. I wanted to know more of this strange relationship between the maid and the renowned scholar.

Amsterdam 1634 French Philosopher Rene Descartes takes a room above Mr Sergeant's bookshop to work on his Discourse. Helena Jans, sixteen years old, is the maid who takes his eye. Helena is an intelligent girl and, unusually for one of her class, can read and write. Slowly, through a very natural sharing of small events they come together. The Monsieur, as Descartes is known, is 20 years older, a contraversial thinker, and a Catholic.

When the inevitable happens, Helena is sent away to hide her pregnancy while the Monsieur goes to live in Utrecht. Will he ever return? Will the child she bears ever know her father?

Based, very loosely, on true events, this is the story of Descartes and Jans relationship over a number of years. Helena is portrayed as an almost modern-thinking woman, wanting to write, draw, create and be more than the skivvy she is.

Beautifully written this is a fascinating story. I found the first part of the book to be more involving than the latter part but this did not at all spoil my great enjoyment of it.

I loved the fact that this story is based on truth.Admittingly it may not be totally accurate, but it gives the reader, a real sense of life at that time, whilst giving a fairly good idea of a love story between a famous figure and his maid. You have sympathy​ and admiration for the feisty nature of Helena and her struggles and it gives an insight to the famous Descartes
The ultimate tragedy is heart rending and a natural conclusion to a beautifully crafted read.

Helena, the heroine of this novel, works as a maidservant in Amsterdam for a small publisher who takes in lodgers to supplement his income. One day in 1634 a new lodger arrives at the door. His name is Descartes and he is seeking seclusion so he can concentrate solely on writing his great work "Discourse". When he discovers that Helena has taught herself to write using discarded quills and beetroot juice he begins to take a real interest in her. The story of their relationship, it's impact on Helena and her future life then follows. By adding human dimension to the known facts about Descartes Glasfurd has given us a truly absorbing read. The clash between the genius of Descartes and the determination of Helena comes alive against a backdrop of 17th century Holland. Glasfurd has that great ability of drawing her reader into another century and another place. Her assiduous research makes this work of "faction" extraordinarily believable. I strongly encourage you to spend a few hours in 17th century Holland - you'll enjoy it.

Thanks to Net Galley and to John Murray Press Two Roads for offering me a free ARC of this novel that I voluntarily review.
This novel, that could be classed as historical fiction, tells the (at least in part imagined) story of Helena Jans, a Dutch maid who was serving at a house where René Descartes stayed in Amsterdam, and who bore him a daughter. In the author’s note, at the end of the book, Glasfurd explains in detail the true facts known about Helena (she existed and indeed bore Descartes a girl, Francine, and she got married later and had a boy), shares her sources and her intention when writing the book.
The story, narrated in the first person from Helena’s point of view, is beautifully written. We get a clear sense of the historical period, of Holland at the time, especially what it would be like for a young girl of a poor family, who is sent to the capital as she needs to make a living for herself. She is presented as a curious girl, who’s taken an interest in reading and writing, practically teaching herself to do it, and how she ends up as a maid at a bookseller’s home. She’s fascinated by paper (a very expensive and luxurious commodity at the time), ink, by books and maps. She’s only ever traced the outline of the letters on her own hand (therefore the title: The Words in My Hand) but eventually, after experimenting on making her own ink using beetroot, she does learn to write using a quill and proper ink. She also teaches another servant girl how to write, broadening her horizons and giving her a better chance in life.
Coming into contact with Descartes, the Monsieur (as she calls him all through the book, because there is always a certain distance between them), revolutionises her world, not only because of the relationship with him (she’s very young at the time, and he’s many years her senior, so one wonders what that would be considered nowadays) but because of the way he examines and sees the world. The author uses their conversations and Helena’s curiosity, as ways to expose some of Descartes ideas, exemplifying them in lyrical and at the same time understandable ways. Swallows, eels’ hearts, the refraction of light, a flame, snowflakes, anything and everything catches Descartes attention and he feels the need to study it and explain it.
Helena is a complex character. She’s presented as a young woman living through difficult circumstances who tries to live her own life and make her way, rather than just depend on the generosity of a man she doesn’t fully understand (and who perhaps didn’t understand himself that well, either). But she’s not a modern heroine, doing things that would have been impossible during that historical period. Whilst she is shown as curious, skilled, and determined, she is hindered by gender and class (publishing books, even something as simple as an illustrated alphabet for children is not possible for a woman), and also by her personal feelings. She suffers for her mistakes and she lives a limited existence at times, being subject to insult and abuse (as she would have likely been given her circumstances). Despite all that, Glasfurd presents Helen as an artist, a woman who can describe, draw and appreciate things around her, who wants to ensure her daughter gets an education, and who loves Descartes (however difficult that might be at times).
I’ve read a few books recently that try to recover female figures that might have been the great women behind great men but have been ignored or obscured by official history. In some cases, the authors seem to be at pains to paint a negative picture of the man in question. This is not the case here. We only see Descartes through Helena’s eyes (also through some overheard comments and conversations he has with others and through some of his letters) and at times his actions are difficult to understand, but within his constraints he is portrayed as a man of contradictions but with a good heart, who cared for those around him but was, perhaps, more interested in his studies and science than in everyday matters and the life of those closest to him. He is weary of the consequences and risks of publicly exposing his relationship with Helena and his daughter but does not abandon them either. He is a man who struggles and cannot easily fit in the society of his time.
A beautifully observed and written book, about the love of science, writing, nature, and the human side of a historical figure that remains fascinating to this day. This fictionalisation provides a good introduction to some of Descartes ideas and is a great way of remembering another woman whose place in history has only been a footnote until now. A great read, especially recommended to those who love historical fiction and who are intrigued by Descartes and XVII century Holland.

Glasfurd is a strong writer and her prose will transport you into the world of 17th Century Holland immediately. Her descriptions are vivid and enveloping, and there is a sumptuousness to her narrative that is really captivating.

The relationship between Helena and Descartes is interesting and intriguing, and its slow-burning passion is the main focus of the first half of the novel. There are some racy bits as well as scenes of true sensitivity that work well in depicting the burgeoning courtship.

Bookworms and writers will enjoy Helena’s obsession with the written word, and the lengths she goes to to ensure she can continue to write. Her attempts to break through the patriarchy of Dutch commerce to sell her writing and illustrations to booksellers is a noble cause – and something I would have liked to read more about.

I found the second half of this book a chore to finish as nothing much happened. Once Helena is with child and moves away, the pace of the narrative dissipates and the plot, for me, lots its focus.

For all this is based on a true story, these characters could have been anybody. It seemed incidental that Helena’s lover was Descartes rather than a core feature of the narrative – the things that happened to her because she was with him (ie being abandoned, unmarried with a child) have happened ten times over in stories about the affairs between rich men and their maids.

Comparisons between The Girl in the Pearl Earring and The Miniaturist have been drawn to this book, which I think are fair given the setting and subject matter. However, Glasfurd’s narrative isn’t as strong as those tales and lacked the plotlines and suspense to sustain my intrigue for its 430 pages.

I liked Glasfurd’s writing and The Words in my Hand is a successful debut on many levels – but it just didn’t wow me for the entire ride.