The Shooting Party: A Novel

Isabel Colegate

ISBN 10: 1582435936 / ISBN 13: 9781582435930

Published by Counterpoint, 2010

About this Item

"A beautifully crafted novel, remarkably visual and evocative. The characters are caught in stunning images and tableaux that convey the essence of their natures, the sweep of their emotions." --The Washington Post In the autumn of 1913, Sir Randolph Nettleby assembles a brilliant array of guests at his Oxfordshire estate for the biggest pheasant hunt of the season. An army of gamekeepers, beaters, and servants has rehearsed the intricate age-old ritual, and everything about this splendid weekend promises a perfect consummation of the pleasures afforded the privileged in Edwardian England. And yet it is not: the moral and social code of this group is not so secure as it appears. Competition beyond the bounds of sportsmanship, revulsion at the slaughter of the animals, anger at the inequities of class--these forces are about to rise up and engulf the assured social peace, a peace that can last only a brief while longer. In imagining Sir Randolph's shooting party, wrote The Spectator, "Colegate has found a perfect metaphor for the passing of a way of life." "The Shooting Party is a lovely piece of writing, in which subtlety, irony, and close observation abound." --Larry McMurtry.

Seller Inventory # 00106802788

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Shooting Party: A Novel
• Publisher: Counterpoint
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1582435936
• ISBN 13: 9781582435930
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: 2nd Edition
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

"A beautifully crafted novel, remarkably visual and evocative. The characters are caught in stunning images and tableaux that convey the essence of their natures, the sweep of their emotions." --The Washington Post

In the autumn of 1913, Sir Randolph Nettleby assembles a brilliant array of guests at his Oxfordshire estate for the biggest pheasant hunt of the season. An army of gamekeepers, beaters, and servants has rehearsed the intricate age-old ritual, and everything about this splendid weekend promises a perfect consummation of the pleasures afforded the privileged in Edwardian England.

And yet it is not: the moral and social code of this group is not so secure as it appears. Competition beyond the bounds of sportsmanship, revulsion at the slaughter of the animals, anger at the inequities of class--these forces are about to rise up and engulf the assured social peace, a peace that can last only a brief while longer. In imagining Sir Randolph's shooting party, wrote The Spectator, "Colegate has found a perfect metaphor for the passing of a way of life."

"The Shooting Party is a lovely piece of writing, in which subtlety, irony, and close observation abound." --Larry McMurtry

About the Author

ISABEL COLEGATE was the acclaimed author of many bestselling books, including The Orlando Trilogy, Statues in a Garden, and Winter Journey. The Shooting Party, first published in 1980, was an international bestseller and the winner of the W. H. Smith Literary Award for the British book of the year. It was made into a celebrated motion picture starring James Mason, Edward Fox, and John Gielgud. Colegate lived near Bath, England, and died in 2023.