Book description
In a small town in the middle of England, the aftermath of the Second
World War brings change. For ambitious industrialist Charles Freeman,
it offers new opportunities and marriage toMary. He buys the big house
on the hill and nails his aspirations to the future.
In quick succession, three sons and a daughter bring life to the big
house and, with it, the seeds of family joy and tragedy. As the
children grow and struggle with the hazards of adulthood, Charles'
business expands in direct proportion to his girth and becomes a
symbol of the town's fortunes as Britain claws its way back from the
grey austerity of wartime Britain.
As times change, so do the family's fortunes. Their stories create a
generous epic, an extraordinarily rich and plangent hymn to the
transformation of middle England over the past fifty years. At its
heart is a diverse and persuasive cast of loveable and odious
characters attempting to contend with the restrictions of their
generation. This is the story of our lives.
Tim Pears is the author of five novels:
In the Place of Fallen Leaves
(
which won the Hawthornden Prize and the Ruth Hadden Memorial Award),
In a Land of Plenty, A Revolution of the Sun
,
Wake Up
and
Blenheim Orchard.
In a Land of Plenty
was made into a ten-part BBC TV series. Tim Pears has also received the
Lannan Award in USA. He lives in Oxford.
