In 18th-century France, a child is captured in the forests near Aveyron where he seems to have been living wild for seven years. Now 12 years old, the Wild Boy is put on public display as a freak, and finally handed over to the ambitious, emotionally repressed Doctor Itard, who is charged with educating the boy, whom he names Victor, and trying to discover the secrets of his strange, secret life. But Victor soon becomes a pawn in the raging debate about nature vs nurture, and Itard's attempts to civilise him bear little fruit. Instead, Victor seems drawn to Mme Guerin, his motherly guardian - and to her vivacious daughter, Julie, who is herself falling for Itard as he struggles to understand both Victor and his own confused emotions. Giving a vivid sense of the Revolutionary period, the novel brings to life through the stories of three fascinating characters a mysterious case that resonates in the modern day preoccupation with autism.

A profoundly moving, intriguing novel based on the true story of a feral child in post-Revolutionary France, now believed to be an early case of autism

About the Author
Jill Dawson's novels include Fred & Edie, which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Whitbread Novel of the Year Award, Watch Me Disappear, which was longlisted for the Orange Prize, and The Crime Writer, winner of the East Anglian Book of the Year. An award-winning poet, she has also edited several poetry and short story anthologies. She has held many fellowships, including the Creative Writing Fellowship at the University of East Anglia. In 2008 she founded a mentoring scheme for new writers, Gold Dust, and in 2020 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She lives in the Cambridgeshire Fens.

Reviews
Intriguing and deeply moving * Sunday Telegraph *
An accomplished novel, rich with ideas and vivid characters, which is, above all, a lucid and moving exploration of the nature of autism. * Laura Baggaley, Observer *
Fascinating and deeply sympathetic ... Ingenious, well-crafted and carefully researched, this novel questions what makes us human and leaves one a little wiser for it. * David Shukman, Daily Mail *
The damaged child's frantic little body and fragile heart are an insistent, vivid presence on every page of [Dawson's] fine novel ... Dawson's prose is graceful, her approach deeply intelligent and persuasive. * Hilary Mantel *
Excellent ... Dawson takes what is already a compelling tale and successfully fleshes it out into a convincing and highly moving book. * Michael Newton, Guardian *



Book Information
ISBN 9780340822975
Author Jill Dawson
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Sceptre
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Weight(grams) 220g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 128mm * 22mm