There is a mesmerising stillness to Austin Clarke’s latest novel . . . Out of a single act of retribution [he] has spun an entire history, one in which freedom, love and even languor all have their place

— New York Times

Bimshire, 1952. The Sergeant of the island’s police force is called to hear a murderous confession. A lifetime of tragic compromise told in a single night. Layers of disturbing history unfold as Mary-Mathilda – fair-skinned mistress of plantation manager Mr Bellfeels – weaves her intimate story of passion, motherhood and loss culminating in a gruesome revenge.

Respect to Tindal Street Press for bringing to the UK this soaring and sorrowful novel of Caribbean life… Austin Clarke creates a seething panorama of sex, race and power… The novel’s language proves as lush, seductive – and dangerous – as its landscape

— The Independent

The beauty of The Polished Hoe lies in the poetry of its telling and the marvellous voice of Mary-Mathilda. The value of the novel lies in its patient exploration of the sacrifices that are made for the sake of survival

— The Washington Post

An extraordinary tale of lust and oppression… a beautiful, light-skinned ‘black’ woman [is] forced by the ambition of her mother and the sexual appetite of her colonial master to live a dangerous double life as beneficiary and plaything of a society steeped in racial cruelty

— The Times