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An elegant, atmospheric, emotional coming-of-age novel with themes of generational trauma, sexual identity and coping with mental illness at its heart, as well as the silence of women drowning in plain view in their daily lives. 'The Polite Act of Drowning is a beautiful and captivating novel, lyrical and sensuous, a precise and faithful evocation of the tumult and trauma of family life, and of emergence into adulthood, and the confrontation of truths about ourselves and the people we love' - Donal Ryan Michigan, 1985. The drowning of a teenage girl causes ripples in the small town of Kettle Lake, though for most the waters settle quickly. For sixteen year old Joanne Kennedy, however, the tragedy dredges up untold secrets and causes her mother to drift farther from reality and her family. When troubled newcomer Lucinda arrives in town, she offers Joanne a chance of real friendship, and together the teenagers push against the boundaries of family, self-image, and their sexuality during the tension of a long, stifling summer. But the undercurrents of past harms continuously threaten to drag Joanne and those around her under... Perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owen
A stunning debut on queer love, betrayal and survival in Elizabethan England. Perfect for fans of Hilary Mantel and Maggie O'Farrell. ________________ 'Vivid, punchy, brilliantly original' SUNDAY TIMES 'Hugely impressive, visceral and moving' FINANCIAL TIMES 'Imaginative, atmospheric, and heart-poundingly tense' NEIL BLACKMORE _______________________ Kit Marlowe: playwright, poet, lover. In the plague-stricken streets of Elizabethan England, Kit flirts with danger, leaving a trail of enemies and old flames in his wake. His plays are a roaring success; he seems destined for greatness. But the queen's eyes are everywhere and the air is laced with paranoia. When Marlowe is arrested on charges o...
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"County Lines is a unique and remarkable miscellany of voices telling their own life stories and, by extension, the lives of the new communities that have grown up in South Dublin County. It builds into a kaleidoscopic portrait of life as experienced there over the past half century."--BOOK JACKET.
The travels and observations of Elisabeth Hewes in her retirement years, during the last decade of the 20th century. With contributions by Stephen Butt and John Florance of BBC Radio Leicester During her retirement years, apart from her diaries, Elisabeth Hewes of Ravenstone in Leicestershire, wrote of her many travels, which were often accomplished in just one day. Betty's Travel Journals begin in April 1992 and finish at the end of 2000. They give a vivid insight into her love of life and people; we see familiar things through different eyes and visit unknown places which leave us with a feeling that we must go there ourselves. Travelling by road, rail, or merely on foot, Betty uses only t...
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Based on real events, this prize-winning novel is the compelling story of a marriage, of love and duty, and the quest for freedom in a pioneering age. When Betty Guard steps ashore in Sydney, in 1834, she meets with a heroine's welcome. Her survival during a four-month kidnapping ordeal amongst Taranaki Maori is hailed as nothing short of a miracle. But questions about what really happened slowly surface within the élite governing circles of the raw new town of Sydney. Jacky Guard, ex-convict turned whaler, had taken Betty as his wife to his New Zealand whaling station when she was fourteen. After several years and two children, the family is returning from a visit to Sydney when their barque is wrecked near Mount Taranaki. A battle with local Maori follows, and Betty and her children are captured. Her husband goes to seek a ransom, but instead England engages in its first armed conflict with New Zealand Maori when he is persuaded to return with two naval ships. After her violent rescue, Betty's life amongst the tribe comes under intense scrutiny.