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Kit Milcourt – impatient, quirky, idealistic and brilliant – has been a climber, diver in exotic waters and affluent young city banker. Now, because of his beloved Anna, he is a teacher. Glumly mediocre Sandmarsh High School, reeling under assaults from Inspectors and its own unpromising pupils, is hard put to contain his maverick ideas. Year Seven, on the other hand, love them. Only the soothing presence of Anna keeps the peace.
But Anna can’t guard her erratic husband on the school trip: instead a far darker, more malevolent staffroom presence crosses Europe and discovers what Kit has secretly planned for the children amid the dim alleys of winter Venice. But children are unpredictable too, and things move rapidly beyond both teachers’ control.
Between farce and tragedy the resulting events swiftly change Kit’s and Anna’s live in unthinkable ways, strain a great love to the limit and open a dark chasm into the past.
But Anna can’t guard her erratic husband on the school trip: instead a far darker, more malevolent staffroom presence crosses Europe and discovers what Kit has secretly planned for the children amid the dim alleys of winter Venice. But children are unpredictable too, and things move rapidly beyond both teachers’ control.
Between farce and tragedy the resulting events swiftly change Kit’s and Anna’s live in unthinkable ways, strain a great love to the limit and open a dark chasm into the past.
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Reviews
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done with a finesse which makes the words live on in your memory long after the novel has been put away
a brilliant dissection of troubled lives
'Her story of Kit Milcourt [...] is passionately felt and a moving exposé of the graveyard of talent, imagination and energy that is the domain of too many schools.' Elizabeth Buchan, Night & Day (Dec '98)
an idiosyncratic blend of her journalistic voice ... With the skills of a writer who understands the proper balance in a novel between issue and narrative. ... This is her best novel ... [and] will find an answering echo in many readers
'a good story, crisply and lightly told, that touches on many of teaching's current preoccupation and dilemmas and that grows in depth as it unfolds' The Times Educational Supplement
Purves' fourth novel is a skilled and serious attempt to deal with society's sensitivity (or oversensitivity) towards the treatment of children
'the kind of book that you race to finish and then think about for a long time afterwards' Beverly Davies,The Lady
Purves's evocative descriptions of Venice intensify an already gripping narrative
'a rare and wonderful treat' Northern Echo
'a compelling love story which stubbornly refuses to pass judgement on a terrifying deviancy which haunts society' Eastern Daily Express
all the compassion characteristic of her writing in her previous novels and columns. ... This is a humane and perceptive novel
'Libby Purves has crafted a poignant novel with a modern tragedy interspersed with humour and malevolence' Worcester Evening News
As ever, Libby Purves draws you into the laughter and tears in the life of her characters, in this case teachers Kit and Anna. ... Like all her books, this is a cracking story
A lovely read, and much enjoyed by my reader, who thinks that this is her best novel yet.
Libby Purves's previous novels, Casting Off, A Long Walk in Wintertime and Home Leave, were warmly received by the critics:
'Humour, humanity and relish for the enjoyably mundane' The Times
'A feel-good novel ... hilarious ... humorous ... fabulously incisive'
Independent
'Ms Purves has the gift of tongues - a born novelist' Fay Weldon
'Five-star fiction' Penny Vincenzi
'A keen eye for the picaresque' Scotsman
'A sure touch for dramatising the lacerations and upheavals of ordinary life' Sunday Times
'Lively and robustly honest' Sunday Express
'Purves' novel of ordinary lives is compelling, her perceptions acute ... sophisticated and skilful'
Daily Telegraph
Libby Purves' prose is clean, sharp and in touch with things that matter'
Daily Express
'One to sell like hotcakes, Purves' depiction of family chaos will make you laugh out loud.' She
'A glorious romp ... with a healthy dose of satire on media manners and a generous injection of knockabout comedy into the bargain' Country Living
'Well-told and enjoyable ... [the voice] is that of someone genuinely interested in the varieties of human experience, amused but not mocking, understanding but not judgmental' Sunday Telegraph