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Bad Relations by Cressida Connolly
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Bad Relations

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Narrator Sam Woolf

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Length 9 hours 8 minutes
Language English
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Brought to you by Penguin.

A TALE OF A TRAGEDY SEEPING THROUGH GENERATIONS, AND A FAMILY FRACTURED BY HISTORY AND DESIRE - available for pre-order now

'A writer who seems able to peer directly into the human heart' John Preston

On the battlefields of the Crimea, William Gale cradles the still-warm body of his brother. William's experience of war will bring about a change in him that will reverberate through his family over the next two centuries.
In the 1970s, William's descendants invite Stephen, a distant relation, to stay in their house in the English countryside - but their golden summer entanglements will end in a shocking fall from grace.

Half a century later, a confrontation between the surviving members of the family will culminate in a terrible reckoning.

Praise for AFTER THE PARTY:

'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

'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' Hilary Spurling

'Wonderfully subtle and interesting... with a compelling voice' Linda Grant

ยฉ Cressida Connolly 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

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 four books: The Happiest Days, which won the MacMillan/PEN Award, The Rare and the Beautiful, My Former Heart and After the Party, which is currently shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and was a Waterstones Book of the Month. She lives in Worcestershire.

Audiobook details

Narrator:
Sam Woolf

ISBN:
9780241580837

Length:
9 hours 8 minutes

Language:
English

Publisher:
Penguin Books Ltd

Publication date:

Edition:
Unabridged

Illustration of person opening a gift

The perfect last-minute gift

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Limited-time offer

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Reviews

Connolly's vivid characterisation, supple prose and striking imagery sweep you along, in an absorbing and affecting saga that uses one family's story to anatomise the different stages of grief Connolly, like Anne Tyler and Tessa Hadley, is a master of fluidly shifting perspectives, a sharply witty observer of social class, and a champion of imaginative empathy Bad Relations is an amazing achievement and one of the most satisfying books you're likely to read this year This clever novel set across three timelines tells the story of a family haunted by tragedy. A skilfully written, powerful drama

Another fascinating, moving story from the author of After the Party

In recent British fiction I can think only of Tessa Hadley who rivals Connolly in exacting such intricate, compelling drama from close-knit families . . . I don't often wish a book were longer, but this one I did Moving [and] powerful . . . Connolly's vividly drawn characters grapple with trauma, unkindness and greed in an intriguing novel where past actions reverberate in the present A ravishing novel from the great family saga-teller Cressida Connolly and an honourable tribute to the past Masterful . . . a joy to see it garnering the ecstatic reviews it deserves Elegantly written, this subtle, satisfying, well-observed novel is a delight Expand reviews
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