SHORTLISTED FOR THE PAUL TORDAY MEMORIAL PRIZE

*'100 Best Reads for Summer', Sunday Times*

*'Best Summer Reads', Irish Times*

*'8th July Pick of the Week', Sunday Times*

An expertly imagined novel about war's long trail of damage, and about healing intentions gone savagely wrong.' Hilary Mantel

'The atmosphere of the late forties is brilliantly evoked . . . a compassionate and compelling account of post traumatic stress in veterans of the Second World War while bringing individual patients and their psychiatrists vividly to life.' Pat Barker

Set in Northfield, an understaffed military psychiatric hospital immediately before the NHS is founded, Walking Wounded is the story of a doctor and his patient: David Reece, a young journalist-to be whose wartime experiences in Burma have come back to haunt him violently; and Daniel Carter, one of the senior psychiatrists, a man who is fighting his own battles as well as those of his patients.

This moving and impressive debut explores violence and how much harm it does to those forced to inflict it in the name of war. It also captures the dilemmas of the medics themselves as they attempt to 'fix' their patients, each of whom raise the question of what has happened to their humanity, what can be done to help them, and what we are willing to sacrifice in the name of healing.

About the Author
Sheila Llewellyn was born in England and now lives in Northern Ireland. She completed a PHD in Creative Writing at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry in Belfast in 2016. She has won the P J O'Connor RTE Radio One Drama Award and the Silver Award for the Best Broadcast Radio Drama in the New York International Radio Drama Festival in 2012. She has also been shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize, the Sean O Faolain Short Story Prize, and shortlisted twice for the Costa Short Story Award.

Reviews
An expertly imagined novel about war's long trail of damage, and about healing intentions gone savagely wrong. Walking Wounded will engage fans of Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy * Hilary Mantel *
The atmosphere of the late forties is brilliantly evoked . . . a compassionate and compelling account of post traumatic stress in veterans of the 2nd world war while bringing individual patients and their psychiatrists vividly to life * Pat Barker *
Reminiscent of Pat Barker's Regeneration, and its portraits of damaged soldiers from an earlier conflict, this is a novel that matches Barker's work in its exploration of the trauma wars inflict on those who fight them. -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times *
Quietly self-assured [and] deeply touching -- Elizabeth Lowry * Fiction Book of the Day, Guardian *
Writing about a hospitalised and traumatised poet is to invite comparisons to Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy about shell-shocked First World War poets. Llewellyn's shocking and moving debut can hold its own even in that celebrated company. -- Antonia Senior * Book of the Month, The Times *
Llewellyn's considerable gifts keep us gripped to the end even when the pain described becomes almost unbearable. The beauty and skill of her own writing is the best testament to her belief in the redemptive power of art. * Irish Times *
Llewellyn has taken the harrowing subject of PTSD and used it to produce a haunting debut novel . . . The level of detail in the book is remarkable -- Eithne Shortall * Irish Sunday Times *
A richly researched tale that stars cameos of the real-life medics who advocated brain surgery as a cure for the psychic scars of service. If that seems an outrage today, Llewellyn's achievement in this tender period piece is to evoke an incendiary sense of scandal, while avoiding all trace of we-know-better-now smugness. -- Anthony Cummins * Daily Mail *
A moving novel exploring the effects of PTSD post World War II * Emerald Street *
Meticulously researched, emotionally devastating: a work of uncommon brilliance. * Ian Samson *
An astute and powerful portrayal of the damage inflicted by war and the suffering often caused by misguided attempt to repair it. An extremely impressive first novel that combines a delicacy of language and a profound strength of insight. * David Park *
An astonishing novel: beautifully crafted, with compelling characters and a gripping story . . . Llewellyn is an elegant, truthful writer. * Cathy Galvin *
If you're looking for a novel that is profoundly revelatory and comes with a huge punch of impact about something vitally important, this is it. It's hard to believe it's a debut novel, it's so assured . . . Highly recommended. * Bookbag *
A remarkably nuanced debut about the human consequences of war * The National *
Powerful, shocking, enlightening, moving, and beautifully written * Irish Examiner *



Book Information
ISBN 9781473663107
Author Sheila Llewellyn
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint Sceptre
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Weight(grams) 198g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 165mm * 18mm