The Shell House - Hardcover

Newbery, Linda

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385750110 ISBN 13: 9780385750110

Publisher: David Fickling Books, 2002

Synopsis

While Greg looks into the history of an old ruined mansion, he finds a connection to a World War I foot soldier who, much like Greg, found himself struggling to deal with confusing feelings about his sexuality and personal inadequacies.

About this title

Review:

... passionate and provoking ... -- Amazon.com

... poised, mature, adventurous, lucidly written, challenging and thoroughly compelling ... vintage Linda Newbery. -- Chris Stephenson, Carousel

... the final chapters of this extremely satisfying novel deliver a series of clever twists. -- Geraldine Brennan, The TImes Educational Supplement

... unique exploration of spirituality and sexuality ... the final chapters of this extremely satisfying novel deliver a series of clever twists. -- Geraldine Brennan, The Times Educational Supplement

... wonderfully assured. Highly recommended. -- Robert Dunbar, The School Librarian, Autumn 2002

Newbery writes wonderfully ... -- Jonathan Douglas, The Financial Times

Newbery writes wonderfully. -- Jonathan Douglas, Weekend Financial Times

This is a novel to read, think about and then read again. -- Nicholas Tucker, The Independent

This is a novel to read, think about, and then read again. -- Michael Tucker, The Independent

From the Author:

Several of my novels are set in real places - "The Shell House" more obviously than most. I first saw the ruined 18th-Century mansion on which the "Graveney Hall" of the novel is based when I was eight years old and my family moved to Epping. On our walks, we became familiar with the austere frontage of the mansion on the edge of Epping Forest. It is only the shell of its former splendid self, as it was gutted by fire in 1917. The lower floor of the house was boarded up, the gardens fenced off, and at that time pigs were kept in its outbuildings.

Years later my mother joined a group of volunteers aiming to preserve and partially restore the once-elaborate gardens. One of my mother's photographs - of a caryatid on one of the summerhouses - made me start thinking of a possible novel. Although I was interested in a fictional version of the events leading to the 1917 fire, involving Edmund Pearson, a young army officer, I wanted a present-day story to dominate, with main character 17-year-old Greg, who strays in to take photographs. The double plot gave me the opportunity of showing Graveney Hall both as an aristocratic family home during the First World War years, and in ruins in the contemporary setting. It soon took on a symbolic significance, as both house and shell.

I've revisited the real "Graveney Hall" several times recently, and it's with the rather odd sense that my fictional version is more real to me than the physical place.

About this edition

• Publisher: David Fickling Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0385750110
• ISBN 13: 9780385750110
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 334