Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0091797292 ISBN 13: 9780091797294

Publisher: Random House UK, 2005

Frank Montgomery is principal of an art college, coping with an aging father and a mother in law on the dark descent into Alzheimer's. His marriage is strong, his relationships supportive - but in one way Frank is extraordinary: he is being talked of as a major figure in British art, a figurative painter of national reputation with commissions beckoning right up to royalty. As he struggles to live the good life and to create, he is much concerned by issues in both work and life: is it better to do new things, or old things perfectly? In this novel, Frank's values are put to the test. Once again Stanley Middleton dissects middle England with his sharp but healing scalpel, and in the process he explores family life, generational change, and the true nature of art through the complexities, pains and joys of its creation.

From the Inside Flap:

Once again, Stanley Middleton dissects middle England with his sharp but healing scalpel, and in the process he explores family life, generational change, and the true nature of art through the complexities, pains and joys of its creation.

About the Author:

Born in 1919 in Bulwell, Nottingham, England, Stanley Middleton attended University College in Nottingham. After college he served in the British Army and then became part of the Army Educational Corps. He later taught at High Pavement College in Nottingham. Harris's Requiem, was published in 1960, A Serious Woman and Two's Company were published in '61 and '63.. His novel Holiday, about a composer who takes great joy in creativity, published in 1974, was the cowinner of the Booker Prize.