Book description
The Orange Prize long listed debut novel by the author of The
German Boy
In 1958, in a small Devon village, on an idyllic summer
afternoon, two children are drowned. Their parents, Isabel and Robert,
are overcome with grief but, as time passes, their tragedy becomes
part of the everyday fabric of village life.
One summer's day, thirty years later, Anna arrives. She comes to the
village on a whim, hoping to start afresh - and, without telling
anyone she is pregnant, goes to live with Isabel. For a time the women
find solace in each other's company, but the baby's arrival causes
powerful feelings of loss and heartbreak to surface, and Anna must
question whether Isabel's feelings towards her child are entirely
benign. . .
'Wastvedt, like Alice Sebold in The Lovely Bones, casts a
wide net that goes beyond the immediate family. Captivating and
evocative' Toronto Globe and Mail
'Accomplished, dramatic, with a finale that Du Maurier herself would
have been proud of' Daily Mail
'Moving, impressive, strongly atmospheric. A remarkable achievement'
Penelope Lively
Born in 1954, Patricia Wastvedt grew up in Blackheath, south London,
and spent her summers in Kent. She has a degree in Creative Arts and
an MA in Creative Writing, and her first novel, The River,
written in her late forties, was long-listed for the Orange Prize. Her
second novel, The German Boy, is available in Penguin. She
teaches at Bath Spa University, and is also a manuscript editor. She
lives and writes in a cottage in Somerset.
Born in 1954, Patricia Wastvedt grew up in Blackheath, south London,
and spent her summers in Kent. She has a degree in Creative Arts and an
MA in Creative Writing, and her first novel,
The River
, written in her late forties, was long-listed for the Orange Prize. Her
second novel,
The German Boy,
is available in Penguin. She teaches at Bath Spa University, and is
also a manuscript editor. She lives and writes in a cottage in Somerset.
