Search results for ""author rose tremain""

From the Orange Prize–winning author Rose Tremain comes a brilliant and picaresque novel of seventeenth-century England. In the wake of the gaudy years of the Restoration, Robert Merivel, physician and courtier to Charles II, faces the agitations and anxieties of middle age. Questions crowd his mind: has he been a good father? Is he a fair master? Is he the King’s friend or the King’s slave? In search of answers, Merivel sets off for the French court of Versailles, where—inevitably—misadventures ensue.

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From Sunday Times bestselling novelist Rose Tremain comes a gripping novel of murder and revenge set in Victorian England Nobody knows yet that she is a murderer... London, 1850. On a freezing winter's night, a baby is abandoned at the gates of a park only to be saved by a young policeman and taken to the Foundling Hospital.After suffering years of brutal hardship at the Hospital, Lily is released into the world of Victorian London. But she is hiding a dreadful secret...When Lily and the policeman meet again, Lily is convinced that he holds the key to her happiness. But might he also be the one to uncover her crime and so condemn her to death?'Enthralling... Tremain evokes Victorian London with visceral intensity in a gripping and deeply humane novel exploring themes of rejection, poverty, guilt and redemption' Observer

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What is the difference between friendship and love? Gustav grows up in a small town in Switzerland, where the horrors of the Second World War seem a distant echo. But Gustav's father has mysteriously died, and his adored mother Emilie is strangely cold and indifferent to him. Gustav's life is a lonely one until he meets Anton. An intense lifelong friendship develops but Anton fails to understand how deeply and irrevocably his life and Gustav's are entwined until it is almost too late...'A perfect novel about life's imperfection... Tremain is writing at the height of her inimitable powers...' Kate Kellaway, Observer'Heartbreaking, unsentimental and beautifully written, and it reinforces my opinion that there are few writers out there with the dexterity or emotional intelligence to rival that of the great Rose Tremain.' John Boyne, The Irish Times

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The bestselling classic from a 'magnificent story-teller' (Independent on Sunday). Journey to the glittering seventeenth-century court, and witness the rise and fall of young, charming Robert Merivel...When a twist of fate delivers an ambitious young medical student to the court of King Charles II, he is suddenly thrust into a vibrant world of luxury and opulence. Blessed with a quick wit and sparkling charm, Robert Merivel rises quickly, soon finding favour with the King, and privileged with a position as ‘paper groom’ to the youngest of the King’s mistresses. But by falling in love with her, Merivel transgresses the one rule that will cast him out from his new-found paradise…'For a vivid – and funny – fictional re-creation of the era, Tremain’s Restoration is hard to beat.' The TimesRose Tremain has sold over one million copies of her books.

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'THRILLING...a terrific book, accomplished in its poised, imaginative storytelling and its vivid, sensual rendering of landscape and character, emotion and memory' The TimesIn a silent valley in southern France stands an isolated stone farmhouse, the Mas Lunel. Its owner is Aramon Lunel, an alcoholic haunted by his violent past. His sister, Audrun, alone in her bungalow within sight of the Mas Lunel, dreams of exacting retribution for the unspoken betrayals that have blighted her life. Into this closed world comes Anthony Verey, a wealthy but disillusioned antiques dealer from London seeking to remake his life in France. From the moment he arrives at the Mas Lunel, a frightening and unstoppable series of consequences is set in motion...

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A masterful collection of short stories from the prize-winning and bestselling Rose Tremain.Wallis Simpson, the twice-divorced American for whom Edward Vlll abdicated the throne, is on her deathbed in her Paris flat, closely guarded by her lawyer who will not allow her any visitors. An East German border guard, redundant after the fall of the Berlin Wall, tries to reach Russia by bicycling across the hostile wastes of Poland.A jilted man gets his revenge. A baby grows wings. A character in an Impressionist painting escapes from his ‘frame’ – or does he?‘Moving and tragic... The darkness of Rose Tremain is never far from the surface in this brilliantly written short story collection’ Daily Express‘Classic, breathtaking Tremain’ Independent on Sunday, Books of the Year‘Mordantly perceptive tales’ Sunday Times

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Gustav Perle grows up in a small town in Switzerland, where the horrors of the Second World War seem only a distant echo. An only child, he lives alone with Emilie, the mother he adores but who treats him with bitter severity. He begins an intense friendship with a Jewish boy his age, talented and mercurial Anton Zweibel, a budding concert pianist. The novel follows Gustav’s family, tracing the roots of his mother’s anti-Semitism and its impact on her son and his beloved friend. Moving backward to the war years and the painful repercussions of an act of conscience, and forward through the lives and careers of the two men, one who becomes a hotel owner, the other a concert pianist, The Gustav Sonata explores the passionate love of childhood friendship as it is lost, transformed, and regained over a lifetime. It is a powerful and deeply moving addition to the beloved oeuvre of one of our greatest contemporary novelists.

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Discover this bestselling classic from the author of The Gustav Sonata, charting Robert Merivel’s rise and fall through glittering seventeenth-century society. When a twist of fate delivers an ambitious young medical student to the court of King Charles II, he is suddenly thrust into a vibrant world of luxury and opulence. Blessed with a quick wit and sparkling charm, Robert Merivel rises quickly, soon finding favour with the King, and privileged with a position as ‘paper groom’ to the youngest of the King’s mistresses.But by falling in love with her, Merivel transgresses the one rule that will cast him out from his new-found paradise…‘A most beautiful and original novel’ Independent‘Triumphant’ Sunday Telegraph‘Dazzling’ New York Review of Books *Rose Tremain has sold over ONE MILLION books. Enter her vivid historical world*

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Rose Tremain's novels and short stories have been published in thirty countries and have won many awards, including the Orange Prize (The Road Home), the Dylan Thomas Award (The Colonel's Daughter and Other Stories), the Whitbread Novel of the Year (Music & Silence) the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Prix Femina in France (Sacred Country) and the South Bank Sky Arts Award (The Gustav Sonata). Her most recent novel is Lily, a Richard and Judy Book Club selection. Rose Tremain was made a CBE in 2007 and a Dame in 2020. She lives in Norfolk and London with the biographer, Richard Holmes.

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'An electrifying, word-perfect tale… Gently devastating, devastatingly beautiful’ Daily Mail'Funny, piercing, and singular… I can’t fathom the reason why you wouldn’t rush straight out to buy it’ ObserverDetermined, rebellious Marianne Clifford is searching for love and freedom in 1960s LondonHow do you find the courage to make your own life?Marianne Clifford, teenage daughter of a peppery army colonel and his vain wife, falls helplessly and absolutely for eighteen-year-old Simon Hurst, whose cleverness and physical beauty suggest that he will go forward into a successful and monied future, helped on by doting parents. But fate intervenes. Simon's plans are blown off course, he leaves for Paris and Marianne is forced to bury her dreams of a future together.It is Marianne who tells this piercing story of first love, characterising herself as ignorant and unworthy, whilst her smart, ironic narration tellingly reveals so much more. Finding her way in 1960s Chelsea, and supported by her courageous Scottish friend, Petronella, she continues to seek the life she never stops craving. And in Paris, beneath his blithe exterior, Simon Hurst continues to nurse the secret which will alter everything.‘Tremain has always surprised and delighted her readers’ Sunday Times, Best 23 Novels of 2023** A THE TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023**READERS LOVE ABSOLUTELY AND FOREVER:'Heartrending, funny, unputdownable' 5*****'An undoubted modern classic' 5*****'Marianne will remain with me as a friend' 5*****'A masterclass in character and world building ... the writing is just sublime' 5*****

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From the author of The Gustav SonataAt the age of six, Mary Ward, the child of a poor farming family in Suffolk, has a revelation: 'I am not Mary. That is a mistake. I am not a girl. I'm a boy.' So begins a heroic struggle to change gender, while around her others also strive to find a place of safety and fulfilment in a savage and confusing world.Over a million Rose Tremain books sold'A writer of exceptional talent ... Tremain is a writer who understands every emotion' Independent I'There are few writers out there with the dexterity or emotional intelligence to rival that of the great Rose Tremain' Irish Times'Tremain has the painterly genius of an Old Master, and she uses it to stunning effect' The Times'Rose Tremain is one of the very finest British novelists' Salman Rushdie'Tremain is a writer of exemplary vision and particularity. The fictional world is rendered with extraordinary vividness' Marcel Theroux, Guardian

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'A magical invention of page-turning suspense, of sadness, grief and passion' The TimesLewis Little, precocious thirteen-year-old, is spending summer in Paris with his mother, Alice. Alice is translating the latest medieval romance by Valentina Gavrilovich, the bestselling and exotic Russian émigré. Lewis is there to make his first acquaintance with one of the greatest cities in the world; neither can foresee the momentous events that lie in wait for them. Valentina slowly casts a spell over Lewis, but when her past begins to encroach on all their lives and, as this enchanted world is gradually lost, Lewis is driven on a terrifying quest.

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‘One of the great imaginative creations in English literature’ Daily TelegraphA dazzling novel of loyalty and dreams set in Restoration England.The gaudy years of the Restoration are long gone and Robert Merivel, physician and courtier to King Charles II, sets off for the French court in search of a fresh start. But royal life at the Palace of Versailles – all glitter in front and squalor behind – leaves him in despair, until a chance encounter with the seductive Madame de Flamanville, allows him to dream of a different future. But will that future ever be his? Summoned home urgently to attend to the ailing King, Merivel finds his loyalty and skill tested to their limits.Rose Tremain has sold over one million copies of her books.PRAISE FOR MERIVEL‘This book is richly marbled with intelligence, compassion and compelling characters’ The Times'Magnificent story-teller' Independent on Sunday‘Wonderfully entertaining’ Michael Holroyd, Guardian Books of the Year

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Joseph and Harriet Blackstone emigrate from Norfolk to New Zealand in search of new beginnings and prosperity. But the harsh land near Christchurch threatens to destroy them almost before they begin. When Joseph finds gold in the creek he is seized by a rapturous obsession with the voluptuous riches awaiting him deep in the earth. Abandoning his farm and family, he sets off alone for the new gold-fields over the Southern Alps, a moral wilderness where many others, under the seductive dreams of 'the colour', are violently rushing to their destinies. By turns both moving and terrifying, The Colour is about a quest for the impossible, an attempt to mine the complexities of love and explore the sacrifices to be made in the pursuit of happiness.

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Gustav Perle grows up in a small town in Switzerland, where the horrors of the Second World War seem only a distant echo. An only child, he lives alone with Emilie, the mother he adores but who treats him with bitter severity. He begins an intense friendship with a Jewish boy his age, talented and mercurial Anton Zweibel, a budding concert pianist. The novel follows Gustav’s family, tracing the roots of his mother’s anti-Semitism and its impact on her son and his beloved friend. Moving backward to the war years and the painful repercussions of an act of conscience, and forward through the lives and careers of the two men, one who becomes a hotel owner, the other a concert pianist, The Gustav Sonata explores the passionate love of childhood friendship as it is lost, transformed, and regained over a lifetime. It is a powerful and deeply moving addition to the beloved oeuvre of one of our greatest contemporary novelists.

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A seductive collection of stories from the 'magnificent story-teller' (Independent on Sunday). Rose Tremain has sold over one million copies of her books.Trapped in a London flat, Beth remembers a transgressive love affair in 1960s Paris. The most famous writer in Russia takes his last breath in a stationmaster’s cottage, miles from Moscow. A father, finally free of his daughter’s demands, embarks on a long swim from his Canadian lakeside retreat. And in the grandest house of all, Danni the Polish housekeeper catches the eye of an enigmatic visitor.‘Superb, each story a perfectly cut jewel’ Irish Times

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'Rose Tremain does not disappoint. As always her writing has a delicious, crunchy precision.' ObserverA wise and witty look at the contemporary migrant experience.Lev is on his way from Eastern Europe to Britain, seeking work. Behind him loom the figures of his dead wife, his beloved young daughter and his outrageous friend Rudi who - dreaming of the wealthy West - lives largely for his battered Chevrolet. Ahead of Lev lies the deep strangeness of the British: their hostile streets, their clannish pubs, their obsession with celebrity. London holds out the alluring possibility of friendship, sex, money and a new career and, if Lev is lucky, a new sense of belonging...'A novel of urgent humanity' Sunday Telegraph

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Trapped in a London apartment, Beth remembers a transgressive love affair in 1960s Paris. The most famous writer in Russia takes his last breath in a stationmaster’s cottage, miles from Moscow. A young woman who is about to marry a rich aristocrat instead begins a torrid relationship with a construction worker. A father, finally free of his daughter’s demands, embarks on a long swim from his Canadian lakeside retreat. A middle-aged woman cares for her injured mother at Christmas. And in the grandest house of all, Danni the Polish housekeeper catches the eye of an enigmatic visitor, Daphne du Maurier. Rose Tremain awakens the senses in this magnificent and diverse collection of short stories. In her precise yet sensuous style, she lays bare the soul of her characters—the admirable, the embarrassing, the unfulfilled, the sexy, and the adorable—to uncover a dazzling range of human emotions and desires.

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Rose Tremain's novels and short stories have been published in thirty countries and have won many awards, including the Orange Prize (The Road Home), the Dylan Thomas Award (The Colonel's Daughter and Other Stories), the Whitbread Novel of the Year (Music & Silence), the James Tait Black Memorial Prize (Sacred Country) and the South Bank Sky Arts Award (The Gustav Sonata). Her most recent novel is Islands of Mercy. Rose Tremain was made a CBE in 2007 and a Dame in 2020. She lives in Norfolk and London with the biographer, Richard Holmes.

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What is the secret to true friendship? Is it really love’s quieter relation or something stronger and more profound? And where does the line between the two lie? Rose Tremain looks at two unlikely lifelong friendships, which – though tested – prove unbreakable. Thought-provoking and life-affirming, this is at once an examination and a celebration of friendship in all its glorious complexity.Selected from the books Restoration and The Gustav Sonata by Rose TremainVINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.A series of short books by the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us humanAlso in the Vintage Minis series:Love by Jeanette WintersonLanguage by Xiaolu GuoDesire by Haruki MurakamiFreedom by Margaret Atwood

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'A hell of a read' Sunday Times'Triumphant, and beautifully told...one of the best novelists writing today' Sara Collins, GuardianAll must gamble with their fate. But not all can win...In the city of Bath, in the year 1865 Jane Adeane, renowned for her restorative skills, is convinced that some other destiny will one day show itself to her.But when she finds herself torn between a dangerous affair with a female lover and the promise of a conventional marriage to an apparently respectable doctor, her desires begin to lead her towards a future she had never imagined...Discover the ultimate historical read. 'Terrific' The Times'One of our most accomplished novelists' Observer'One of my favourite writers' Nina Stibbe

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‘A master class in the art of storytelling’ ObserverThis short story collection demonstrates the enormous range of Tremain’s talent and imagination. The teasing and brilliant title story, Evangelista's Fan, is set in a disturbing dreamlike version of Regency London, where a young italian clockmaker contrives a magical means, not only of repairing time, but also of unlocking the mechanism of sexual happiness.Here is history - Agincourt as seen by the herald who rides between the two camps - alongside such contemporary issues as mortgage debt and medical error. Here are stories set in Cornwall, Corsica, Nashville, Niagara and an unidentified city which conjures up any and every Western European capital. Here are the obstinate dreams of the old and the passionate struggles of the young; here is heartbreak and humour; and here, above all, is love in its many and varied forms.

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'The best thing from Denmark since Hamlet.' John Julius NorwichIn the year 1629, a young English lutenist named Peter Claire arrives at the Danish Court to join King Christian IV's Royal Orchestra. From the moment when he realises that the musicians perform in a freezing cellar underneath the royal apartments, Peter Claire understands that he's come to a place where the opposing states of light and dark, good and evil, are waging war to the death.Designated the King's 'Angel' because of his good looks, he finds himself falling in love with the young woman who is the companion of the King's adulterous and estranged wife, Kirsten. With his loyalties fatally divided between duty and passion, how can Peter Claire find the path that will realise his hopes and save his soul?'The best historical novelist of her generation. She evokes the past with sensuality, wit and superb sleights of hand... The plot is ingenious...an unforgettable tapestry of Eros and art.' A. N. Wilson

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From an acclaimed voice in literature comes a children's story steeped in magic...Oliver loves birds - watching them soar into the sky and wishing that just sometimes they would stay close.So when he discovers a robin made of iron, he thinks he's found the perfect friend - even if his pet dragon isn't quite so certain! When the robin begins to glimmer and hop, Oliver is overjoyed, but in a terrible turn of events, this new friend is lost. But the magic of Iron Robin and the joy of friendship means that there is wonder and excitement ahead for Oliver...Join Oliver on the start of his adventure, with this lyrical and funny story which explores friendship, loyalty and the power of hope. Iron Robin is the perfect bedtime story to share together.

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Rose Tremain's fiction often finds itself drawn into the "wide skies and watery byways of East Anglia". The short stories gathered in Wildtrack, selected from her collections published over three decades, convey the sense of isolation, darkness and secrecy the region fosters: a sense that has long fired Tremain's imagination.At first sight, these four stories might seem to have little in common apart from their East Anglian settings. But some of the protagonists also share a feeling of anxiety that there is something wrong or missing in their lives which they must confront. The title story, Wildtrack, and Peerless both tackle the question of how we find meaning in a secular life, while in A Shooting Season, the main character believes she has found a safe haven, free from intervention of any kind – but then The Past makes an appearance.

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