Book description
Hugh Arkwright's remote childhood in the Central African bush, and its
sudden disruption, leaves him with a legacy of magic, mystery, and
tragic loss. Late in his life, he returns to the gaunt house in Ulverton
where he was brought up by his eccentric uncle, and finds that the old
ghosts still walk. The more he excavates his own past, the deeper he
finds the traces of ancient horrors. The autumnal air of Ulverton begins
to take on the taint of corruption, and a mystery starts that ends with
vengeance, murder and a sudden, staggering revelation. The mild English
manners of the village of darkness beneath the heart of oak. PIECES OF
LIGHT is a modern novel steeped in a resonant past; where rural England
and colonial Africa collide. Densely wrought and vividly imagined, Adam
Thorpe's return to Ulverton is a fictional triumph - thrilling and
unforgettable. Adam Thorpe was born in Paris in 1956 and brought up in
India, Cameroon and England. He has published two books of poetry,
Mornings in the Baltic
(1988) and Meeting Montaigne
(1990) and two novels, Ulverton
(1992) and Still
(1995)
