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Start giftingBad Relations
This audiobook uses AI narration.
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Learn moreBrought 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
© 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.
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 yearA gripping story of love, loss and tragic betrayal
This clever novel set across three timelines tells the story of a family haunted by tragedy. A skilfully written, powerful dramaAnother fascinating, moving story from the author of After the Party
The plot is neat, tight and unexpected but the novel's deep satisfaction comes from Connolly's total immersion in historical atmosphere and profound understanding of human pain What if you could write a novel whose main plot points are a death in combat, a suicide and the breakdown of family relations, and make it beautiful? What if you dared not to show the grimmest bits, but let them happen off-stage, while using elegant, beautiful prose to paint the spaces around them? Cressida Connolly is that brave writer and Bad Relations is her latest masterpiece . . . ravishing 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 Haunting A writer who seems able to peer directly into the human heart Uncanny, evocative, atmospheric Connolly is a terrifically subtle writer... [she] slyly sweeps her readers into the period drama as tensions tauten between families and social classes 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 I finished it in two days flat and I've never read anything quite like it A wonderfully subtle and interesting account of the Mosley women, with a compelling voice 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