45 pages 1 hour read

Maggie O'Farrell

The Hand That First Held Mine

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2009

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Part 2, Chapters 15-18

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 2, Chapter 15 Summary

Several years have passed since Innes’s death. Lexie is in Piccadilly with Felix trying to keep up with her. Felix and Lexie met in Florence when he asked her for directions. Like Lexie, Felix is a journalist, but he’s a television reporter and in love with the spotlight, the drama, and the fame. She is more interested in the stories, especially about art. They have an argumentative and on-again, off-again relationship. Now, she responds to Felix’s request to accompany him to Paris by telling him she doesn’t have time and marching off down Piccadilly, avoiding Soho.

Part 2, Chapter 16 Summary

Elina rushes around the house, getting everything ready to take Jonah out. However, Jonah falls asleep in her arms, so she must stay home. As she holds Jonah, she finds a piece of paper Ted dropped. On it is a list of clues from his memories, though Elina does not recognize what they are. As she tries to decode the list, she suddenly desires her mother. Elina calls her mother and tries to ask to come visit, but her brother is already there, and it becomes clear that Elina can’t come.

In the middle of the night, Elina wakes up suddenly. Jonah is crying, and she sees to him, changes his diaper, and nurses him.

Related Titles

By Maggie O'Farrell

Study Guide

logo

The Marriage Portrait

Maggie O'Farrell

The Marriage Portrait

Maggie O'Farrell

Study Guide

logo

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

Maggie O'Farrell

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

Maggie O'Farrell

Study Guide

logo

This Must Be the Place

Maggie O'Farrell

This Must Be the Place

Maggie O'Farrell