After the Party - Hardcover

Connolly, Cressida

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0241327245 ISBN 13: 9780241327241

Publisher: Viking, 2018

Synopsis

'Had it not been for my weakness, someone who is now dead could still be alive. That is what I believed and consequently lived with every day in prison.' It is the summer of 1938 and Phyllis Forrester has returned to England after years abroad. Moving into her sister's grand country house, she soon finds herself entangled in a new world of idealistic beliefs and seemingly innocent friendships. Fevered talk of another war infiltrates their small, privileged circle, giving way to a thrilling solution: a great and charismatic leader, who will restore England to its former glory. At a party hosted by her new friends, Phyllis lets down her guard for a single moment, with devastating consequences. Years later, Phyllis, alone and embittered, recounts the dramatic events which led to her imprisonment and changed the course of her life forever. Powerful, poignant, and exquisitely observed, After the Party is an illuminating portrait of a dark period of British history which we are yet to fully acknowledge.

About this title

About the Author

Cressida Connolly is a reviewer and journalist, who has written for Vogue, the Telegraph, the Spectator, the Guardian and numerous other publications. Cressida is the author of three books: The Happiest Days, which won the MacMillan/PEN Award, The Rare and the Beautiful and My Former Heart. Cressida is the daughter of writer Cyril Connolly. She lives in Worcestershire.

Cressida Connolly is a reviewer and journalist, who has written for Vogue, The Telegraph, the Spectator, The Guardian and numerous other publications. Cressida is the author of three books: The Happiest Days, which won the MacMillan/PEN Award, The Rare and the Beautiful and My Former Heart. Cressida is the daughter of writer Cyril Connolly. In 1985 she married Worcestershire farmer Charles Hudson. They have three children.

Review

Profound and moving and completely original, with a storyline that is completely satisfying. It'll be one of those novels that stays in my mind forever... it's a work of art -- Craig Brown I finished it in two days flat and I've never read anything quite like it. Everything about the book rings true, politically, psychologically, and in period detail, from the sunny beginnings to the grim end -- Hilary Spurling A wonderfully subtle and interesting account of the Mosley women, with a compelling voice -- Linda Grant Cressida Connolly has an exact, quizzical eye [and] a generous imagination -- Helen Dunmore on 'The Happiest Days' Excellent -- Will Self on 'The Happiest Days' A triumph. Connolly writes better of the love women feel for men than anyone I've ever read. Including D. H. Lawrence' -- Rachel Johnson on 'My Former Heart' Packs a huge emotional punch, dramatising grief and stoicism in an utterly convincing manner -- Elizabeth Buchan on 'My Former Heart' * Sunday Times * [A] beautiful work of art * Daily Telegraph on 'My Former Heart' * A writer who seems able to peer directly into the human heart, to understand its follies and strivings, and to write about them with such sparkling originality that it makes you see the world afresh -- John Preston on 'My Former Heart' * Spectator *

Edition details

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0241327245
• ISBN 13: 9780241327241
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 304