Patrick Gale

To find yourself, sometimes you must lose everything. A privileged elder son, and stammeringly shy, Harry Cane has followed convention at every step. Even the beginnings of an illicit, dangerous affair do little to shake the foundations of his muted existence - until the shock of discovery and the threat of arrest cost him everything. Forced to abandon his wife and child, Harry signs up for emigration to the newly colonised Canadian prairies. Remote and unforgiving, his allotted homestead in a place called Winter is a world away from the golden suburbs of turn-of-the-century Edwardian England. And yet it is here, isolated in a seemingly harsh landscape, under the threat of war, madness and an evil man of undeniable magnetism that the fight for survival will reveal in Harry an inner strength and capacity for love beyond anything he has ever known before. In this exquisite journey of self-discovery, loosely based on a real life family mystery, Patrick Gale has created an epic, intimate human drama, both brutal and breathtaking. It is a novel of secrets, sexuality and, ultimately, of great love.

rom the bestselling author of A PLACE CALLED WINTER comes a compassionate, compelling new novel of boyhood, coming of age, and the confusions of desire and reality.'It's delicious, it's dear, it's heart-breaking and very funny' Rachel Joyce'An incredibly beautiful story told with compassion. Nothing is wasted. Each sentence is beautifully crafted' Joanna Cannon1970s Weston-Super-Mare and ten-year-old oddball Eustace, an only child, has life transformed by his mother's quixotic decision to sign him up for cello lessons. Music-making brings release for a boy who is discovering he is an emotional volcano. He laps up lessons from his young teacher, not noticing how her brand of glamour is casting a damaging spell over his frustrated and controlling mother.When he is enrolled in holiday courses in the Scottish borders, lessons in love, rejection and humility are added to daily practice.Drawing in part on his own boyhood, Patrick Gale's new novel explores a collision between childish hero worship and extremely messy adult love lives.

Picked for the BBC Radio 2 Simon Mayo Book ClubTo find yourself, sometimes you must lose everything.A privileged elder son, and stammeringly shy, Harry Cane has followed convention at every step. Even the beginnings of an illicit, dangerous affair do little to shake the foundations of his muted existence - until the shock of discovery and the threat of arrest cost him everything.Forced to abandon his wife and child, Harry signs up for emigration to the newly colonised Canadian prairies. Remote and unforgiving, his allotted homestead in a place called Winter is a world away from the golden suburbs of turn-of-the-century Edwardian England. And yet it is here, isolated in a seemingly harsh landscape, under the threat of war, madness and an evil man of undeniable magnetism that the fight for survival will reveal in Harry an inner strength and capacity for love beyond anything he has ever known before.In this exquisite journey of self-discovery, loosely based on a real life family mystery, Patrick Gale has created an epic, intimate human drama, both brutal and breathtaking. It is a novel of secrets, sexuality and, ultimately, of great love.

1970s Western-Super-Mare and ten-year-old oddball Eustace, an only child, has life transformed by his mother's quixotic decision to sign him up for cello lessons. Music-making brings release for a boy who is discovering he is an emotional volcano. He laps up lessons from his young teacher, not noticing how her brand of glamour is casting a damaging spell over his frustrated and controlling mother.

From the author of The Facts of Life comes a cunning mix of tragedy and comedy, featuring one man's journey to self-discovery. * As befits the hero of a modern fairy tale, Lawrence Frost has neither father nor siblings, and fits so awkwardly into his worldly mother's life, he might have dropped from the sky. Like many such a hero, he grows up happier with plants than people. Whilst he is straightforward, honest, and a doting dad, he can be a difficult, taciturn husband -- but he's the last person one would suspect of being a killer...* Waking one morning to find himself branded a wife-beater ...

A moving and intensely felt examination of the steps to which we will go to seek protection and security in others. Returning to haunted Cornish landscapes familiar from other Gale novels, it is the story of individuals in search of a family. Dido, the nine-year-old heroine and emotional centre of Patrick Gale''s latest painful comedy, knows that the adults who surround her, the adults who should know better, depend on her for happiness. So who is she to turn to when her short life turns upside down and tragic family history threatens to repeat itself. Eliza, the clever, depressive aunt who has brought Dido up, and whose brilliant academic career has foundered due to the demands of unlooked-for motherhood, tries and fails to give Dido the happy normal childhood she never had herself. Her ex-husband Giles needs Dido back in his life, feeling it has lost all meaning, all substance, without her. Then there is Pearce, the new love interest in Eliza''a life, desperate to give Eliza and Dido the security and protection they need. But will Eliza let him? Does she love him or is she using him to restart a stalled career?Only Dido, unheard of in the clamour of others'' needs, has the power to make or break the happiness of these children in adult clothing.

Youthful beauty, intellectual brilliance, physical passion, tragedy and disgrace are all in this wonderful new Patrick Gale novel as told through the eyes of a 14 year old girl. Sophie is a self-contained,exceptionally bright child who has no known parents and has spent all her life in a children's home.Her life is transformed when she wins a scholarship to Tatham's,a kind of Oxbridge university for teenagers,but this is only the start of an education as much emotional as intellectual. She falls hopelessly in love with Lucas, adored gay son of a wealthy Jewish family and, through him, is ...

A first collection of short stories from Patrick Gale, written over a ten year periodNattily subversive, sexually ambiguous, intelligent and disturbing. The prose sizzles with acidic observationSunday TimesA funeral party ends in an unexpected manner; parents are faced with difficult decisions about their daughter; a housewife transforms her personality with a simple touch-up; a fathers trip to his former school brings back memories of love he thought buried forever. From gothic thrills and twisted comedy to moving family vignettes, Dangerous Pleasures offers a memorable collection of Patrick Gales brilliant short stories of marriage, sex and mortality.What readers say about DANGEROUS PLEASURES:This collection was special. Rarely have I read a short story collection where I enjoyed every story, each one unique from the others. I love the authors sly wit Surprising, memorable and with a good degree of humour leaning toward the macabre, each story in this collection is a gem

An exclusive free sample from Patrick Gales new novel A PLACE CALLED WINTER...From the bestselling author of NOTES FROM AN EXHIBITION comes an extraordinary story of self-discovery. To find yourself, sometimes you must lose everything.A privileged elder son, and stammeringly shy, Harry Cane has followed convention at every step. Even the beginnings of an illicit, dangerous affair do little to shake the foundations of his muted existence - until the shock of discovery and the threat of arrest cost him everything.Forced to abandon his wife and child, Harry signs up for emigration to the newly colonised Canadian prairies. Remote and unforgiving, his allotted homestead in a place called Winter is a world away from the golden suburbs of turn-of-the-century Edwardian England. And yet it is here, isolated in a seemingly harsh landscape, under the threat of war, madness and an evil man of undeniable magnetism that the fight for survival will reveal in Harry an inner strength and capacity for love beyond anything he has ever known before.In this exquisite journey of self-discovery, loosely based on a real life family mystery, Patrick Gale has created an epic, intimate human drama, both brutal and breathtaking. It is a novel of secrets, sexuality and, ultimately, of great love.

** Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2015 ** A stunning novel of love, life and pioneering love, set in Canada. A Sunday Times Top Ten hardback and paperback bestseller -selected for the BBC Radio 2 Simon Mayo Book Club and the Waterstones Book Club.A mesmerising storyteller; this novel is written with intelligence and warmthThe TimesA shy but privileged elder son, Harry Cane has followed convention at every step. Then the beginnings of an affair, and the threat of arrest force him to abandon his wife and child and sign up for emigration to Canada.Remote and unforgiving, his allotted homestead in a place called Winter is a world away from the golden suburbs of turn-of-the-century Edwardian England. And yet it is here, isolated in a seemingly harsh landscape, under the threat of war and madness that the fight for survival will reveal in Harry an inner strength and capacity for love beyond anything he has ever known before.Rich in atmosphere and period detail, from the wardrobe requirements of pioneers to the construction of catalogue-bought houses, this enjoyable tale is both witty and poignantDaily MailNeatly constructed and written in a prose of beautiful lucidity, Gales novel offers up an absorbing and often moving storySunday TimesWhat readers love about A PLACE CALLED WINTER:Beautifully written. This story is full of emotion, love, hard work and heartache. It is also full of hope Patrick Gale never ceases to surprise and amaze. Frontier Canada is as beautifully rendered as respectable Herne Bay A passionate and powerful novel written by a gifted storyteller The gift of Patrick Gale is to tell a story with such poise and grace of prose that you are wound deeply around every step of the unfolding tale This novel is a delightful read - atmospheric with an easy style which effortlessly carries the reader from the stiff English afternoon tea to the chill of a Canadian winter. Gale is one of those skilled writers that makes you forget youre reading a book

A rich, compelling and beautiful story of a marriage and the secrets a family holds...Sparkling with emotional intelligence. A gripping portrait of a marriage and the quiet, devastating fall-out of family lifeIndependentA real craftsman, a master storyteller. Quite simply, you believe every word he tells youIndependent on SundayJulian is a contented if naive only child, and a holiday on the coast of North Cornwall should be perfect, especially when distant American cousins join the party. But their arrival brings upheaval and unexpected turmoil.It is only as a seemingly well-adjusted adult that Julian is able to reflect on the realities of his parents marriage, and to recognise that the happy, cheerful boyhood he thought was his is infused with secrets, loss and the memory of betrayals that have shaped his life.His clear, unforced prose sucks one in effortlesslyDaily MailWhat readers say about ROUGH MUSIC:Im always impressed by his perceptive powers of observation, of his psychological insight and of his assured handling of his material He takes apart a family teetering on the brink of not really knowing each other, or of being in denial of what they know, and analyses their actions and deeds in an almost forensic detail. A really great book The emotional perspective is something Patrick Gale not only understands but relishes in his writing. His characterisations are superb

A richly compelling story of adolescence, sexuality and the lessons we carry forever...An intense tale of love, life, intellectualism and passion. InspirationalDaily ExpressUtterly compelling from first to lastStephen FrySophie, an orphan in love with learning, is sure she will thrive in Tathams, an esteemed boarding school, having survived years of institutional living. But she soon finds herself lost among its cliques and rituals. Befriending two teenage boys, she experiences the first ache of futile love; then a teachers inappropriate attention to one of the trio threatens to destroy them all. Sophie swiftly realizes that there are tougher lessons to absorb outside the schoolroom - of class, sex, families and the emotional disaster they can bring to even the most privileged lives.Insightful and full of understanding and warmth, Patrick Gales FRIENDLY FIRE is a hugely compassionate novel of coming of age and young love.What readers say about FRIENDLY FIRE:As ever, touching on important issues whilst maintaining a great sense of humour, Patrick Gale tells this story with sensitivity and warmth. I would recommend it to anybody I bought all of his other books after reading this, and am hooked on this author There so much packed into this book, Snobbery, the easy easy cruelty of the young, and an ultimate shock. I wont give away the details but its another blockbuster from Patrick Gale. I loved it

The second, character-filled 1980s novel of London and quirky English eccentrics from the bestselling author of A PLACE CALLED WINTERA huge treatDaily MailDomina Tey is a playwright, celebrated by friends, her husband, and the public alike, yet she fears losing her vital edge. Her solution: to leave her beautiful home in Bristol and seek adventure in a squalid, crumbling West London bedsit, where she will live under an assumed name with only her typewriter for companionship. However, once installed, Domina just cant resist meddling in the business of others, forgetting that blurring fact with fiction can be a dangerous game...Patrick Gale is among the great, unsung English novelists. Think Austen, Hardy, Murdoch. RemarkableIndependentWhat readers have said about EASE:I loved it and think its the book of his I have most enjoyed. Beautifully crafted and interesting characters, with Patrick Gales usual easy-to-read prose Early Patrick Gale, humour with consequences. Lovely book which can be read in one sitting on a winters day in front of a roaring fire

From the author of A PLACE CALLED WINTER and NOTES FROM AN EXHIBITION comes a heartfelt, humane novel about what happens when doing good is no longer enough...A convincing, moving account of mans struggle with faith, marriage and moralitySunday TimesOn a clear, crisp summers day in Cornwall, a young man carefully prepares to take his own life, and asks family friend, Barnaby Johnson, to pray with him. Barnaby is a priest, a husband and father, and has always tried to do good, though life hasnt always been either straightforward or rosy. Lennys request poses problems, not just for Barnaby, but for his wife and family, and the wider community, as the secrets of the past push themselves forcefully into the present for all to see.Beautifully writtenTimes A writer with heart and soulObserverWhat readers love about A PERFECTLY GOOD MAN:A most engaging novel, keenly observed, often witty, and beautifully written A wonderful poetic, perceptive and very realistic insight into a very varied group of characters I loved this book - one of the best novels I have read for a long time. Brilliant characterisation, an interesting setting in a small Cornish community, and a very good plot Patrick Gale knows, not just the accurate externals of parish life, but the inner realities of human thinking

One of Patrick Gales best-loved novels, NOTES FROM AN EXHIBITION, set in Cornwall, is the exquisite story of artistic compulsion, marriage, and the secrets left behindPoised and pitch-perfect throughoutMail on SundayThis book is complete perfection Stephen FryCelebrated artist Rachel Kelly dies alone in her Penzance studio, after decades of struggling with the creative highs and devastating lows that have coloured her life. Her family gathers, each of them searching for answers. They reflect on lives shaped by the enigmatic Rachel - as artist, wife and mother - and on the ambiguous legacies she leaves them, of talent, torment and transcendent love.An uplifting, immensely empathetic novelGuardianWhat readers love about NOTES FROM AN EXHIBITION: A shifting, multi-layered, beautifully textured portrait of not-quite ordinary family life The word that shimmers with me is empathy. Gale has such a sensitive understanding of how minds and hearts work and react on one another amid the chaos and sometimes intense joys of real living I loved the exhibition-style notes at the beginning of each chapter, which heralded a hint of the chapters contents. Beautifully woven back and forth in time to reveal the complexities of fascinating family members and their relationships

Set in the late 1980s, Patrick Gales early novel is a charming, funny story of love and life teetering towards the edgeRichly comic, affectionate and perceptiveMail on SundayEight years ago, Robin fled from his family, friends, and entire life, to suffer a complete breakdown in an island monastery. Now hes returning to London and reconnecting with those he left behind: his mother and father, with their own small secrets, and Jake and Candida. But while the people he abandoned have missed him, Robin finds that everything has changed. He alone can decide what he will do in this new world of resentment, possibility and triumphant love.What readers say about LITTLE BITS OF BABY:A book which has all its diverse elements entwined until the last few chapters when strong bonds both erupt and then combine to show the true nature of love I loved this book. Patrick Gale can do no wrong for me. He is rapidly becoming my new favourite writer