Alan Hollinghurst is a master storyteller, a virtuoso of arch wit and human observation; a tale of sexual longing in faraway Flanders is, under his expert hand, also transformed into a veritable comedic farce and also a tragedy of heartbreaking proportions.
Anyone who knows Death in Venice will greatly appreciate this novel; the fact that Hollinghurst later won the Book Prize for another effort should only speed up their search for his stuff.
'An extraordinary book which takes the reader into a world of obsession and mystery...The Folding Star is lit by insight and humour' Evening Standard
Edward Manners - thirty three and disaffected - escapes to a Flemish city in search of a new life. Almost at once he falls in love with seventeen-year-old Luc, and is introduced to the twilight world of the 1890s Belgian painter Edgard Orst.
The plot was beguiling, almost as much as the purported mesmeric qualities of one of the novel’s main characters, the medium Selina Dawes; Sarah Waters has a fine ear for a slightly raised style of Victorian prose, combining that with a page-turning ethos, I found this book unputdownable.
Set almost entirely in winter, the book is perfect for reading fodder as the nights begin to shorten.
'Affinity is the work of an intense and atmospheric imagination . . . Sarah Waters is such an interesting writer, a kind of feminist Dickens' Fiona Pitt-Kethley, Daily Telegraph
Set in and around the women's prison at Milbank in the 1870s, Affinity is an eerie and utterly compelling ghost story, a complex and intriguing literary mystery and a poignant love story with an unexpected twist in the tale. Following the death of her father, Margaret Prior has decided to pursue some 'good work' with the lady criminals of one of London's most notorious gaols. Surrounded by prisoners, murderers and common…
The Essex Serpent entices rather than seances, and we are treated to a downright clash between science and religion, all played out against the backdrop of the Essex marshland and the possible reappearance of a winged creature that has haunted those shores for some several hundred years.
Now a major Apple TV series starring Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston
THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER
'A blissful novel of unapologetic appetites ... here is a writer who understands life' JESSIE BURTON, author of THE MINIATURIST
London, 1893. When Cora Seaborne's controlling husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness. Along with her son Francis - a curious, obsessive boy - she leaves town for Essex, in the hope that fresh air and open space will provide refuge.
On arrival, rumours reach them that the mythical Essex Serpent, once…
The book that divided the Tudor historical community; a comprehensive overview of the life and times/crimes of Henry VIII's second wife and her cultural legacy in movies, TV, on the stage and in literature
