The Greatcoat: A Ghost Story - Softcover

Dunmore, Helen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802121780 ISBN 13: 9780802121783

Publisher: Grove Press, 2013

Synopsis

"Written in crisp, enthralling prose . . . the sense of deja vu surrounding the story makes it all the more chilling. . . . Tense and engaging." The New Yorker

A perfect ghost story.” The Independent

Helen Dunmore is a bestselling novelist and poet whose historical novels have been compared to Tolstoy, Emily Bronte, and Virginia Woolf. In her new novel, Dunmore once again dives into the past with an evocative and sophisticated ghost story about a love affair between a neglected wife and a mysterious soldier.

In the winter of 1952, Isabel Carey moves to the East Riding of Yorkshire with her husband, Philip, a medical doctor. With Philip spending long hours on call, Isabel finds herself lonely and vulnerable as she strives to adjust to the realities of being a housewife.

One evening, while Philip is at work, Isabel is woken by intense cold. When she hunts for extra blankets, she discovers an old RAF greatcoat hidden in the back of a cupboard. Sleeping under the coat for warmth, she starts to dream. And not long afterward, she is startled by a knock at her window. Outside is a young RAF pilot named Alec, whose powerful presence both disturbs and excites her. They begin an intense affair, but nothing has prepared her for the truth about Alec’s life, nor the impact it will have on her own.

A spectral tale of love and war that blurs the line between the real and imaginary, The Greatcoat is an atmospheric and accomplished literary chiller about quiet temptations and the lasting trauma of battle.

About this title

About the Author

Helen Dunmore is the author of eleven novels, including The Betrayal, a New York Times Editors' Choice; The Siege, a national best seller and finalist for the Whitbread Novel of the Year Award; and A Spell of Winter, winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction.

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: Grove Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0802121780
• ISBN 13: 9780802121783
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224