Astutely observed and beautifully written. I rooted for Mairead all the way to the end of this impressive debut -- LOUISE KENNEDY
Elaine Garvey is a tremendous new talent in Irish writing - I'm certain the reader will recognise inside half a page that she's the real thing -- KEVIN BARRY
The Wardrobe Department is at once familiar and surprising, knotty and tender, tough and beguiling, and its author a sure hand with a light touch . . . Garvey [is] one of those enviable writers whose piercing eye for human contradiction and self-sabotage never dims her affection for the souls she's so beautifully painted -- LISA McINERNEY
Clever and original * * Times Literary Supplement * *
Refreshing . . . Garvey excels is placing her heroine in the heart of a busy home, surrounded by people she's known since childhood, but among whom she feels utterly alone . . . Timely . . . Witty -- JOHN BOYNE * * Irish Independent * *
A truly beautiful novel. Mairead is an unforgettable character, revealed in tender, sharp, emotional prose. Garvey's sentences form a delicate pattern, the structure flawless, drawing the reader into the hidden world of London theatre and rural Ireland through complex relationships that question what it means to belong. The Wardrobe Department is that rare thing, already a classic. Garvey is an exquisite talent -- OLIVIA FITZSIMONS
The Wardrobe Department . . . will deservedly be one of next spring's most fashionable titles. Set in the beautifully realised world of a London theatre's costume department, with an interlude in the west of Ireland, its protagonist Mairead is someone to believe in -- MARTIN DOYLE
Whether she's detailing the drama of an Irish funeral or the panic of a backstage emergency, Garvey's control of tone and voice is faultless * * Financial Times * *
The Wardrobe Department is full of verve and wit and humanity. In writing that is sharp and sassy, Garvey captures perfectly the complexities and heartbreak of a young woman's life and the great pull and push of home -- MARY COSTELLO
Very well done . . . Elaine Garvey . . . is especially good at dialogue, with a witty, often biting turn of phrase * * Irish Examiner * *