After the Party - Softcover

Connolly, Cressida

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0241327733 ISBN 13: 9780241327739

Publisher: Penguin, 2018

Synopsis

'I always wanted to be friends with both my sisters. Perhaps that was the source, really, of all the troubles of my life...'

It is the summer of 1938 and Phyllis Forrester has returned to England after years abroad. Moving into her sister's grand country house, she soon finds herself entangled in a new world of idealistic beliefs and seemingly innocent friendships. Fevered talk of another war infiltrates their small, privileged circle, giving way to a thrilling solution: a great and charismatic leader, who will restore England to its former glory.

At a party hosted by her new friends, Phyllis lets down her guard for a single moment, with devastating consequences. Years later, Phyllis, alone and embittered, recounts the dramatic events which led to her imprisonment and changed the course of her life forever.

'Wonderfully subtle and compelling' Linda Grant

'Uncanny, evocative, atmospheric' Sunday Times

'Connolly is a terrifically subtle writer... [she] slyly sweeps her readers into the period drama as tensions tauten between families and social classes' Daily Telegraph

'Wonderful, tragicomic... beautifully researched' The Times

About this title

Review:

Profound and moving and completely original, with a storyline that is completely satisfying. It'll be one of those novels that stays in my mind forever... it's a work of art (Craig Brown)

I finished it in two days flat and I've never read anything quite like it. Everything about the book rings true, politically, psychologically, and in period detail, from the sunny beginnings to the grim end (Hilary Spurling)

A wonderfully subtle and interesting account of the Mosley women, with a compelling voice (Linda Grant)

Wonderful, tragicomic... beautifully researched (Kate Saunders The Times)

One of the best books published this year (The Lady)

Uncanny, evocative.... Connolly skilfully sets scenes in pared yet atmospheric prose (Sunday Times)

Connolly gives an object lesson in how to tell a story in a non-judgmental way. The result is a brave, engrossing and unexpectedly moving novel (Mail on Sunday)

Polished and reflective... a salutary masterclass on the values that really matter (Country Life)

This historical novel is an absorbing, nuanced look at extremism dressed up with social niceties and class privilege, and is sure to resonate today (Stylist)

In her latest novel, Cressida Connolly expertly evokes a changing nation, and a woman whose life is altered forever (Vogue)

About the Author:

Cressida Connolly is a reviewer and journalist, who has written for Vogue, the Telegraph, the Spectator, the Guardian and numerous other publications. Cressida is the author of three books: The Happiest Days, which won the MacMillan/PEN Award, The Rare and the Beautiful and My Former Heart. Cressida is the daughter of writer Cyril Connolly. She lives in Worcestershire.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0241327733
• ISBN 13: 9780241327739
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272