Edith & Oliver: A Sunday Times Book of the Year - Hardcover

Forbes, Michèle

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1474604676 ISBN 13: 9781474604673

Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2017

Synopsis

A SUNDAY TIMES MUST READ: 'A tender and vivid novel about a failing marriage set in the milieu of the Edwardian music hall'

Edith was born into a different world. But her rebellious nature brought her to the seedy glamour of the music hall, where she plays the piano by night.

Oliver is an illusionist. And he is a man of ambition. He wants to tour the world, to pioneer ground-breaking illusions.

History and fate have other ideas.

When Edith and Oliver meet they fall headlong in love. But their children arrive as the world begins to change, as cinemas crowd the high street and the draw of the music hall wanes.

What follows is a struggle: against the trials of marriage, against the march of time, and against Oliver's flaws - flaws that may cost them everything.

'A writer who is not afraid to address the so-called ordinary lives of real human beings' John Banville on Michèle Forbes

About this title

Product Description

as new unused

Review

A SUNDAY TIMES MUST READ: A tender and vivid novel about a failing marriage set in the milieu of the Edwardian music hall (Sunday Times)

Forbes writes beautifully... She is also particularly insightful on the internal torment of a man brought down by the slow growth of self-deception. (DAILY MAIL)

Forbes's imagery shows her obvious talent . . . Her insight into the world of performance and talent - particularly wasted talent turned rancid - is astute (Irish Times)

Edith & Oliver is a very well-written novel. Forbes' use of language is lyrical and evocative: you can almost taste the food, feel the chill of dreary boarding-houses, hear the applause or jeers of theatre audiences... I'd definitely recommend it. (Irish Independent)

The novel tells a painfully sad tale, but Forbes imbues it with such wit and tenderness for her damaged characters that it remains a pleasure to read. (Sunday Times)

Atmospheric... This long gone vaudeville world is engagingly brought to life by Forbes... Forbes's debut novel Ghost Moth was highly praised. This painstakingly descriptive and atmospheric follow-up by the Belfast-born author deserves to be equally well regarded. (Sunday Business Post)

Clever, unpredictable, beautifully written and crafted - Ghost Moth stayed with me for a long time after I'd finished reading the final, sad, wonderful page (Roddy Doyle on Ghost Moth)

Deeply - sometimes erotically - charged. The writing soaks up the world, and thrills to the beauty of it...Katherine Bedford - so ordinary and so passionate - is a heroine to treasure (Anne Enright on Ghost Moth)

An impressive debut by a writer who is not afraid to address the so-called ordinary lives of real human beings. We shall be hearing a great deal more from Michèle Forbes (John Banville on Ghost Moth)

A bountiful river of lovely images, fresh and perfect, a triumphant story both familiar and strange. A stellar debut (Sebastian Barry on Ghost Moth)

About this edition

• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1474604676
• ISBN 13: 9781474604673
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 400