The Beginning of Spring

Penelope Fitzgerald

ISBN 10: 0002232618 / ISBN 13: 9780002232616

Published by Collins, London, 1998

About this Item

Collins 1998, First Edition first impression. Booker prize shortlisted, tiny mark to verso of front board and two tiny faint marks to top of text block otherwise Fine in Near Fine unclipped dustjacket with minimal creasing to top of spine, small chip to top of back cover and a hint of sunning to spine. A handsome copy which appears to be unread.

Seller Inventory # 000461

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Beginning of Spring
• Publisher: Collins, London
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0002232618
• ISBN 13: 9780002232616
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine

About this title

Synopsis

Set in Moscow in 1913, this novel concerns Frank Reid, whose wife suddenly leaves him without explanation to return to London. The author goes on to depict the Reid household, the expatriate community, Frank's colleagues, friends and children and the Russians with whom he comes into contact. This is set against the background of the life of the city itself, hardly aware of the upheaval about to break upon it. The author has also written "Innocence" and "Offshore".

Review

‘Reading a Penelope Fitzgerald novel is like being taken for a ride in a peculiar kind of car. Everything is of top quality – the engine, the coachwork and the interior all fill you with confidence. Then, after a mile or so, someone throws the steering-wheel out of the window.’ Sebastian Faulks

‘Wise and ironic, funny and humane, Fitzgerald is a wonderful, wonderful writer.’ David Nicholls

‘For the life of me I can’t decide how properly to respond to this book. Whether it contains a latent moral or allegorical message, or whether it is simply a tour de force of craft and imagination I have not the faintest idea. I only know that it is one of the most skilful and utterly fascinating novels I have read for years. I cannot imagine any kind of reader who would not get a thrill from this gloriously peculiar book.’ Jan Morris, Independent

‘Penelope Fitzgerald has produced a real Russian comedy, at once crafty and scatty. She has mastered a city, a landscape and a vanished time. She has written something remarkable, part novel, part evocation, and done so in prose that never puts a foot wrong. She is so unostentatious a writer that she needs to be read several times. What is impressive is the calm confidence behind the apparent simplicity of utterance. “The Beginning of Spring” is her best novel to date.’ Anita Arookner, Spectator