200,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ 

Overnight NZ-wide delivery | πŸ“ Visit our Auckland bookstore β€’ Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

Free Love

The exhilarating new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Late in the Day
By Tessa Hadley
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.53 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 6,244 ratings, 780 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In Free Love by Tessa Hadley, the narrative explores the vibrant and transformative journey of a woman in 1960s London who finds herself entwined in unexpected desires and conflicts. Against the backdrop of societal shifts, she navigates personal awakenings, love, and freedom, challenging traditional roles and pursuing a new sense of self-discovery. Hadley's evocative writing delves into the complexities of relationships and the pursuit of authenticity during a time of cultural change.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of Free Love. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate nuanced explorations of family dynamics set against the backdrop of societal change in the 1960s. The narrative delves into themes of self-discovery and romantic entanglement, offering a vivid portrayal of a woman's journey to reclaim her independence in a rapidly evolving world.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a compulsively readable novel about a suburban housewife's reawakening in 1960s London.

'Tessa Hadley is my favourite author' KATE ATKINSON

It's 1967 and London is alive with the new youth revolution. In the suburbs, meanwhile, Phyllis Fischer inhabits a world of conventional stability. Married with two children, her life is both comfortable and predictable.

But when Nicky - a twenty-something friend of the family - visits one hot summer evening and kisses Phyllis in the dark of the garden, something in her catches fire. Newly awake to the world, Phyllis makes a choice that defies all expectations...

'Achingly moving and real' GUARDIAN

'A beautiful and exciting novel' THE TIMES

'An absolute joy to read from a writer who never puts a word wrong' RED

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Free Love by Tessa Hadley is praised for its humanity, transporting readers into what feels like a timeless classic. The book is described as beguiling and deceptively easy to read while probing deeper questions about freedom and fate. Reviewers commend Hadley's extraordinary skills in crafting both the surface life and deep interiors of her characters with exceptional clarity and engagement.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781529115239

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 February 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 28.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 194.0mm

Weight: 220g

Pages: 320

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Historical Fiction Historical Romance Literary Fiction Penguin Books Romance Tessa Hadley

About the Author

Tessa Hadley is the author of seven highly praised novels, Accidents in the Home, which was longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, Everything Will Be All Right, The Master Bedroom, The London Train, Clever Girl, The Past, Late in the Day and three collections of stories, Sunstroke, Married Love and Bad Dreams. She won a Windham-Campbell prize for Fiction in 2016, The Past won the Hawthornden Prize for 2016, and Bad Dreams won the 2018 Edge Hill Short Story Prize. Her stories appear regularly in the New Yorker.

Also by Tessa Hadley

View all
  • The Party
    An irresistible novella about two sisters and a night that changes everything, from the master chronicler of our heart's hidden desires. Evelyn had the surprising thought that bodies were sometimes wiser than the people inside them. She'd have liked to impress somebody with this idea, but couldn't explain it. On a winter Saturday night in post-war Bristol, sisters Moira and...
    By Tessa Hadley
    Hardback
    $3200
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Party
    An irresistible story about two sisters and a night that changes everything, from the master chronicler of our heart's hidden desires. On a winter Saturday night in post-war Bristol, sisters Moira and Evelyn, on the cusp of adulthood, go to an art students' party in a dockside pub; there they meet two men, Paul and Sinden, whose air of worldliness...
    By Tessa Hadley
    Paperback
    $2800
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Alone with a Book
    Pre-order
    Alone with a Book
    Alone with a Book is a glorious celebration of reading deeply and seeing the world and ourselves reflected back to us in art, in the first non-fiction from Tessa Hadley. 'Tessa Hadley is a great writer, and if it's possible, an even better reader' – Zadie Smith In this rich and engaging collection of essays, Tessa Hadley reflects on a...
    By Tessa Hadley
    Hardback
    $5000
    Pre-order
    Out 17 Nov 2026
  • Bad Dreams and Other Stories
    The dazzling new collection of stories from the prize-winning author of The Past and The London Train. The dazzling collection of stories from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Free Love and Late in the Day. WINNER OF THE EDGE HILL SHORT STORY PRIZE Two sisters quarrel over an inheritance and a new baby. A housekeeper caring for a helpless...
    By Tessa Hadley
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • After the Funeral
    Sunday Times bestseller Tessa Hadley explores the big consequences of small events in this new collection. Sunday Times bestseller Tessa Hadley explores the big consequences of small events in this new collection. 'Tessa Hadley is my favourite author' – KATE ATKINSON Heloise's father died in a car crash when she was a little girl; at a dinner party in her...
    By Tessa Hadley
    Paperback
    Sold Out

Browse lists from our team

The Latest at Book Hero

View all

More from Romance

View all
  • A Crimson Ridge Christmas
    New Release
    A Crimson Ridge Christmas
    A Crimson Ridge Christmas is a collection of two steamy, holiday cowboy romance novellas that conclude the forbidden-love Crimson Ridge series by internationally bestselling author Elliott Rose. Experience two taboo relationships, navigate the aftermath of two cheating exes, indulge in one drunken three-way, and meet a hot dad caught in a snowstorm. There are just enough sexy cowboys in ugly...
    By Elliott Rose
    Paperback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Grim Tidings
    New Release
    Grim Tidings
    'Infinity stars. I smiled, laughed, squealed with delight, wept, and then smiled again' β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…'This book ripped my heart out, trampled on it, put it back together, and still had amazing smut' β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…'Fun, witty, sexy and made me cry at the end (in a good way, don't worry)…B.K. Borison has written one of my favourite reads of the year' β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… A...
    By B.K. Borison
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2899
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates
    On Sale
    16% off
    How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates
    A hilarious, swoony and downright terrifying horror romance in which a cinephile gets caught in the middle of a murder spree at a speed-dating event and must use her encyclopedic knowledge of the rom-com and horror genres to make it as a real-life Final Girl. When cinephile Jamie Prescott attends a speed-dating event, she expects to meet some mediocre men...
    By Shailee Thompson
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Wild Wicked Mate
    New Release
    Wild Wicked Mate
    From #1 New York Times bestselling author Laurie Gilmore, comes a brand new small-town romance set in the quirky town of Maple Hollow! The closer the proximity, the stronger the spark… Phoebe never expected to fall in love, and especially not with the annoyingly handsome werewolf she’s been hanging out with for years.Theo has spent his life comparing himself to...
    By Laurie Gilmore
    Paperback
    $2199
    Elsewhere:
    $2699
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Keeper
    He can resist any woman in the world...except for the one he shouldn't want. Famed goalkeeper Noah Wilson doesn't do relationships or complications. The only thing the grumpy single dad wants is to do his job and spend more time with his daughter. Unfortunately, his bachelor status has made it impossible to find the right nanny for her. With the...
    By Ana Huang
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Song of the Sirens
    New Release
    The Song of the Sirens
    A sweeping romantasy debut about sisterhood, rebellion, and the danger of forbidden love, featuring ancient immortal clans, hidden spells, morally grey love interests, and a war that threatens to fracture the realms – for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Penn Cole and Victoria Aveyard. Exiled to the mortal realm of Asterra for a crime their mother committed, Siren sisters Adriana...
    By Taylah Walker
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • My Dreadful Darling
    New Release
    My Dreadful Darling
    My darling, it is you who is dreadful. Reverie Adams has only one goal in life: to keep her head above water with her father's sinister legacy weighing on her shoulders. But she's no stranger to drowningβ€”it is her very first memory, after all, and if her demons have their way, it will also be her last. Even with the...
    By H. D. Carlton
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Fever Dream
    From #1Β New York TimesΒ bestselling author Elsie Silver comes a small-town, forbidden, rivals-to-lovers romance, the first book in the brand-new Western romance series Emerald Lake. Limited copies with sprayed edges!Professional bull rider Emmett Bush is not looking for love. He’s looking for a paycheque to save his family’s farm from bankruptcy. So when he agrees to be the leading man on...
    By Elsie Silver
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2899
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Midnight Curfew
    On Sale
    13% off
    New Release
    Midnight Curfew
    The Jaeger family return in the brand new queer, dark romance from New York Times bestselling author Penelope Douglas, in which two rivals must fight their forbidden and burning attraction to one another. Summertime is quiet in southern Florida. In the humidity, the streets are empty, and the nights are stillβ€”perfect for a little mischief while the police aren't looking....
    By Penelope Douglas
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Blood of My Monster
    New Release
    Blood of My Monster
    The first book in a dark, dangerous mafia romance trilogy from New York Times, USA Today, international and Amazon #1 bestselling author Rina Kent, where obsession and power collide. We shouldn't have been in the same frame or universe. But we meet under the strangest circumstances. He's my superior in the military and the man who'll introduce me to carnage....
    By Rina Kent
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell
    New Release
    I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell
    What could go wrong on a road trip to Hell? ⭐ corporate hell vibes ⭐ only one bed ⭐ a road trip through the underworld ⭐ forced proximity ⭐ slow burn romance 'A delirious, clever romp of a book. Best time I've had with a book in ages!' JENNA LEVINE Brie Benson lives life in survival mode, right down to...
    By Mackenzie Reed
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Christmas Staycation
    Christmas Staycation by Meghan Quinn: Nothing says Merry Christmas like fake fiancΓ©s, family pressure, and accidentally falling for your ex's brother... Nolan never met a spotlight he didn't like. As a major league baseball player with a filthy mouth, an ego the size of the North Pole, and zero interest in behaving, he's perfectly happy breezing into Christmas in Kringletown...
    By Meghan Quinn
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 200,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.