The Road to Lichfield (Penguin Essentials) - Softcover

Lively, Penelope

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0241981409 ISBN 13: 9780241981405

Publisher: Penguin UK, 2017

Synopsis

The Road to Lichfield is the Booker Prize shortlisted first novel by Penelope Lively, published as a Penguin Essential for the first time on the 40th anniversary of its publication. Ann Linton leaves her family in Berkshire and sets up camp in her father's house when he is taken into a nursing home in distant Lichfield. As she shares his last weeks she meets David Fielding, and the love they share brings her feelings into sharp focus. Deeply felt, beautifully controlled, The Road to Lichfield is a subtle exploration of memory and identity, of chance and consequence, of the intricate weave of generations across a past never fully known, and a future never fully anticipated. 'A searing study of the peculiar state of being in love . . . there are few contemporary novelists to match her on this subject' Sunday Telegraph

About this title

From the Back Cover:

In The Road to Lichfield, Penelope Lively explores the nature of history and memory as it is embodied in the life of a forty-year-old woman, Anne Linton, who unexpectedly learns that her father had a mistress. With this new knowledge, Linton must now examine the realities of her own life-of her childhood, her husband-and ask, What do they really know of her? Deeply felt, beautifully controlled, The Road to Lichfield is a subtle exploration of memory and identity, of chance and consequence, of the intricate weave of generations across a past never fully known, a future never fully anticipated.

"The plot of The Road to Lichfield is exquisitely constructed, and the language shimmers. . . . A journey of self-discovery-the narrative urges the reader to contemplate the larger context in which people everywhere live out their individual dramas."-Wendy Martin, San Francisco Chronicle

"A flawless novel about the role of the past by one of Britain's best."- Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review)

"Like all of Lively's best novels, The Road to Lichfield contains beneath its modest veneer great depths of intelligence, perception and feeling, not to mention a thoroughly believable and interesting cast of characters."-Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World

"Uplifting energy . . . It breathes life into characters and seizes readers. . . . A refreshing validation of the positive aspects of change, and invigorating trust in caprice and whimsicality make The Road to Lichfield stand as a testament of confidence in human nature. Penelope Lively's spirited observations, her vivid and concise style, increase our enjoyment of the book."-Ladyce Pereira-Leite, Raleigh News & Observer

About the Author:

Penelope Lively is the author of many prize-winning novels and short-story collections for both adults and children. She has twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize: once in 1977 for her first novel, The Road to Lichfield, and again in 1984 for According to Mark. She later won the 1987 Booker Prize for her highly acclaimed novel Moon Tiger. Her other books include Going Back; Judgement Day; Next to Nature, Art; Perfect Happiness; Passing On; City of the Mind; Cleopatra's Sister; Heat Wave; Beyond the Blue Mountains, a collection of short stories; Oleander, Jacaranda, a memoir of her childhood days in Egypt; Spiderweb; her autobiographical work, A House Unlocked; The Photograph; Making It Up; Consequences; Family Album, which was shortlisted for the 2009 Costa Novel Award, and How It All Began. She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award. She was appointed CBE in the 2001 New Year's Honours List, and DBE in 2012. Penelope Lively lives in London.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin UK
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0241981409
• ISBN 13: 9780241981405
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224