Longlisted for the Booker Prize

After the upheavals of the Second World War, the Richardson family - Sam, Ellen and their young son Joe - settle back to working-class life in the Cumbrian town of Wigton. Yet for them, as for so many, life will never be the same again. As the old order begins to be challenged and new vistas open, Sam and Ellen forge their future together with differing needs and desires - and conflicting expectations of Joe, who grows up with his own demons to confront.

The superb follow-up to the bestselling THE SOLDIER'S RETURN

About the Author
Melvyn Bragg is a writer and broadcaster whose first novel, For Want of a Nail, was published in 1965. His novels since include The Maid of Buttermere, The Soldier's Return, A Son of War, Credo and Now is the Time, which won the Parliamentary Book Award for fiction in 2016. His books have also been awarded the Time/Life Silver Pen Award, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the WHSmith Literary Award, and have been longlisted three times for the Booker Prize (including the Lost Man Booker Prize). He has also written several works of non-fiction, including The Adventure of English and The Book of Books about the King James Bible. He lives in London and Cumbria.

Reviews
[A] deeply humane and acutely truthful novel * Peter Kemp, Sunday Times *
A compelling sequel to his award-winning tour de force, THE SOLDIER'S RETURN * Frank Egerton, Financial Times *
Full of a simple poetry that is deeply evocative . . . even better than THE SOLDIER'S RETURN * Carol Birch, Independent *
A novel of remarkable power and grace . . . his authenticity is astounding * Roy Hattersley, The Times *
Shot through with blazing integrity and authenticity * Val Hennessy, Daily Mail *



Book Information
ISBN 9780340818169
Author Melvyn Bragg
Format Paperback
Page Count 432
Imprint Sceptre
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Weight(grams) 340g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 128mm * 28mm