A Life Everlasting - Hardcover

Miranda Hearn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0340827556 ISBN 13: 9780340827550

Publisher: Sceptre, 2004

Synopsis

It is London, 1785, and James Mallen, an eminent surgeon, is found dead on the banks of the Thames. As his restless ghost searches obsessively for the identity of his own murderer as well as for the spirit of his lover, Augusta, he begins to gather other ghosts around him - ghosts such as Queen Caroline, bewailing her ill-treatment by King George, and his maid, still keeping an eye out for him beyond the grave. Woven into the story of his afterlife is the parallel narrative of his life: of the rising science of medicine and of his rise through society, his marriage, and his passionate affair with Augusta, the charismatic wife of an MP, that leads to his ultimate downfall. Together both narratives give a vivid, atmospheric impression of the times and, with great imagination, playful humour and emotional subtlety, Miranda Hearn makes her ghosts as real and affecting as their earthly selves.

About this title

About the Author

Miranda Hearn was born in Darlington in 1955 and brought up in Dorset and Wiltshire. In 1973 she went to study theatre, writing and performance at Dartington College of Arts. She worked in the theatre for many years, including acting with a Cypriot company, then as assistant stage manager for Steven Berkoff, taking a production of Hamlet to Israel. Since then she has been assistant to the author and psychoanalyst Masud Khan, worked in the editorial offices of the International Zoo Yearbook at London Zoo, done postgraduate research on the writer Harriet Martineau, and worked as a scriptwriter and in film production, including on the Channel 4 Series TRAFFIK. A LIFE EVERLASTING is her first novel.

Review

'I was taken with it from the opening page. Her eighteenth century seems totally convincing to me ... I found it fascinating to see how she built up a vision of a world beyond this which was both sinister and full of pathos, and I admire the indirection and subtlety of her writing. She has a beautiful and distinctive style, and I think I should read with pleasure anything she wrote.' -- Hilary Mantel 'Hearn's writing is characterful, witty and wise, and she does a great thing in making history seem tangible and dense, a sea in which all of time mixes.' -- Victoria Lane, Daily Telegraph 'Hearn keeps up an invigorating pace in an atmospheric slice of capital history reminiscent of Rose Tremain's Restoration.' -- Rachel Hore, Guardian 'Fascinating' -- The Tablet 'An atmospheric and beguiling novel...There are some splendidly impressionistic descriptions of historical events such as the Gordon Riots, during which Mallen behaves with such great heroism. The reader wrams to him both as a physician and a man...Full of wit and a sharp, wry humour...vivid and convincing' -- Historical novels review

About this edition

• Publisher: Sceptre
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0340827556
• ISBN 13: 9780340827550
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288