Uncle Rudolf (Uncorrected proof copy)

The haunting new novel from Paul Bailey, whose work has been short-listed twice for the Booker prize.
At the age of 70, Andrew Peters suddenly finds himself speaking in the language he has not used since childhood, when he came to live with his doting Uncle Rudolf . Rudolf transformed Andrew's world. Looking back across the years, Andrew remembers the captivating man who rescued him in 1937 from a likely death in fascist Romania. A sublimely gifted lyric tenor, Rudolf’s talent had exiled him from his native land, leading him to Paris, Vienna and London, where he became a much-loved star in operetta. He turns all his hopes and sardonic humour upon Andrew, and the gauche child from a remote country town becomes what Rudolf wants him to be – an English gentleman.
Vivid, often hilarious stories of Rudolf's brilliant but blighted career and of his eccentric household are intertwined with the slow unfolding of the secrets that have shadowed Andrew's otherwise happy life. Told in matchless prose, this deeply moving novel captures a vanished epoch and a way of life with exquisite tact and restraint.

Advance praise for Uncle Rudolf:
"An exceptionally tender and vivid account of a little boy's expulsion from his own country and language. Tremendous."--Beryl Bainbridge, author of Master Georgie and Birthday Boys

"I read it in one sitting and think it echoing and beautiful; so graciously pitched, perfectly poised, balanced on its hair-breadth between grief and delight. It moved me terribly. I loved it." --Ali Smith, author of Hotel World and Free Love

"Andrew himself is an appealing narrator: honest, troubled, perceptive. It is the clarity of his vision that gives the novel its crisp and satisfying accuracy, and makes it one of Paul Bailey's best books." --Penelope Lively, author of The Photograph

Praise for Paul Bailey's previous book, Kitty & Virgil:

"Crackles with repartee and literary allusion...Compelling. "
--The Washington Post Book World

"Luminous... told with empathy, elegance, and unfailing delight in language."--Publishers Weekly