The Greatcoat - Softcover

Dunmore, Helen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099564947 ISBN 13: 9780099564942

Publisher: Hammer, 2013

Synopsis

A terrifyingly atmospheric ghost story by the Orange-prize-winning Helen Dunmore.
 
In the summer of 1954, newly wed Isabel Carey arrives in a Yorkshire town with her husband Philip. As a GP he spends much of his time working, while Isabel tries hard to adjust to the realities of married life. Life is not easy: she feels out-of-place and constantly judged by the people around her, so she spends much of her time alone.
 
One cold winter night, Isabel finds an old RAF greatcoat in the back of a cupboard that she uses to help keep warm. Once wrapped in the coat she is beset by dreams. And not long afterwards, while her husband is out, she is startled to hear a knock at her window, and to meet for the first time the intense gaze of a young Air Force pilot, handsome, blond and blue-eyed, staring in at her from outside.
 
His name is Alec, and his powerfully haunting presence both disturbs and excites Isabel. Her initial alarm soon fades, and they begin a delicious affair. But nothing could have prepared her for the truth about Alec's life, nor the impact it will have on her own marriage.

About this title

About the Author

HELEN DUNMORE was born in York in 1952. She is a prolific poet and author who has published several collections of poems and children's books, as well as ten novels. Her novel A Spell of Winter won the inaugural Orange Prize in 1996.

From Booklist

Dunmore’s eerie evocation of post–WWII Britain provides the perfect framework for this nifty little ghost story. As newlyweds Isabel and Philip Carey attempt to cope with housing, fuel, and food shortages in their remote Yorkshire village, the lonely and dissatisfied Isabel becomes increasingly drawn into a disturbingly realistic relationship with a deceased airman. After discovering an RAF greatcoat in their drab little flat, she begins receiving visits from the coat’s original owner. Just who Alec was and how he figured into the life of the Careys’ ominously dour landlady is revealed in delectable dribs and drabs as Isabel begins to lead a double life. Hovering between two worlds, she must figure out exactly what is going on, what her landlady has to do with it, and how and when to extricate herself from a passionately romantic relationship with Alec. This atmospheric tale features an appropriately Gothic twist that bolsters the haunting conclusion. --Margaret Flanagan

About this edition

• Publisher: Hammer
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0099564947
• ISBN 13: 9780099564942
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288