"Patrick Gale has written a book which manages to be both tender and epic, and carries the unmistakable tang of a true story. I loved it." -- Jojo Moyes
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. This is a novel of secrets, sexuality and, ultimately, of great love.
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"Beautifully structured around the warmest of warm hearts, but it's also run through with something new: a devastating chill of loss, fear and exile which keeps you shaking your head and biting your lip in concern and shame and disbelief."
— Louisa Young
“A mesmerising storyteller; this novel is written with intelligence and warmth.”
— Times (London)“Neatly constructed and written in a prose of beautiful lucidity, Gale’s novel offers up an absorbing and often moving story.”
— Sunday Times (London)Absorbing, moving and beautifully written, with echoes of EM Forster which I found especially enjoyable.
— Amanda CraigBold, moving, intensely erotic - I couldn't put down this tale of passion and endurance, told with such tenderness.
— Patricia DunckerA tender tale of loss and love
— Sunday TimesBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Patrick Gale was born on the Isle of Wight. He spent his infancy at Wandsworth Prison, which his father governed, then grew up in Winchester before going to Oxford University. He now lives on a farm near Land’s End. One of England’s best-loved novelists, his works include A Perfectly Good Man, The Whole Day Through, and the Richard and Judy bestseller Notes from an Exhibition.