The Donne family's move to the country is inspired by a wish to be close to their cousins, who are to be their nearest neighbours. It proves too close for comfort, however. For a secret switching of wills causes the most genteel pursuit of...
At the centre of this novel stands Harriet Haslam, the epitome of the maternal power figure,whose genuine but overpowering love dominates the novel and whose self-knowledge drives her into insanity. Even after her death Harriet continues to...
The exacting Miranda's search for a suitable companion brings her family into contact with a very different kind of household, raising a plenitude of questions about the ability to manage alone, the difficulties of living with strangers and some...
Eleanor and Fulbert Sullivan live, with their nine children ranging from nursery to university age, in a huge country house belonging to Fulbert's parents, Sir Jesse and Lady Regan. Sir Jesse sends Fulbert, his only son, on a business mission to...
"The Last and the First "was" "Ivy Compton-Burnett's final novel. In it she deals with her familiar themes — tyranny, power and corruption. Although the novel was unfinished at the time of her death in 1969, it combines the brilliant wit and...
With his wife's death, Ninian Middleton turned to his eldest daughter, Lavinia, as a companion. When, some years later, he decides to marry again, a chasm opens in the life of the young girl whose time he has so jealously possessed. Convoluted...
'I cannot be parted longer from my sons… I am coming back to my home'
Nine years after her divorce from Cassius Clare, Catherine decides to re-enter his life. Her decision causes a dramatic upheaval in the Clare family and its implications are...
Sefton and his sister Clemence are dispatched to separate boarding schools. Their father's second marriage, their mother's economies, provide perfect opportunities for mockery, and home becomes a source of shame. More wretched is their mother's...
Best Translated Book Award Longlist
Reader’s Digest Great New Book
World Literature Today Holiday Gift Guide Recommendation
“Offer[s] surprise and revelation at every turn.” — Reader’s Digest
“Eduardo Halfon is a...
A Heritage and its History tells the story of 69 year old Sir Edwin Challoner, and his extended family. Unmarried, and with no direct issue, Challoner's closest relation, and business associate, is his younger brother Hamish. When Hamish dies of a...