Alan Hollinghurst is a celebrated English novelist known for his exquisite prose and sharp observations on social strata and sexual identity. His novels masterfully explore themes of desire, memory, and the shifting landscape of British society. Through precise language and rich descriptions, Hollinghurst crafts compelling narratives that draw readers into complex human relationships and intellectual explorations.
A fourth collection of contemporary British literature, including poetry, essays, short stories, and previews of novels in progress. Among the many contributors, including both new and established writers, are A.S. Byatt, Nadine Gordimer, Hanif Kureishi, Fay Weldon, William Trevor and Brian Aldiss.
Alan Hollinghurst's first novel is a tour de force: a darkly erotic work that centres on the friendship of William Beckwith, a young gay aristocrat who leads a life of privilege and promiscuity, and the elderly Lord Nantwich, who is searching for someone to write his biography.
The Line of Beauty, by Alan Hollinghurst, is a groundbreaking novel exploring gay life in 1980s London. It follows Nick Guest, who moves into a wealthy family's home, navigating class, politics, and sexuality through love affairs and societal changes. This Booker Prize-winning work is both poignant and humorous.
Edward Manners -- thirty three and disaffected -- escapes to a Flemish city in search of a new life. Almost at once he falls in love with seventeen-year-old Luc, and is introduced to the twilight world of the 1890s Belgian painter Edgard Orst.
A comedy of sexual manners that follows the interlocking affairs of four men: Robin Woodfield, an architect in his late forties living with his younger lover Justin (a would-be actor) in Dorset; Robin's 22-year-old son Danny, who lives for clubbing and casual sex; and shy Alex
Young, gay, William Beckwith spends his time, and his trust fund, idly cruising London for erotic encounters. When he saves the life of an elderly man in a public convenience an unlikely job opportunity presents itself. The man is Lord Nantwich, a gay peer of the realm and in the market for a biographer. Reluctantly accepting the commission, Will receives the first of Nantwich's diaries. But in the story he unravels, a tragedy of early 20th century gay repression, lurk bitter truths about Will's own privileged existence.
From the internationally acclaimed winner of the Man Booker Prize comes a masterly novel that spans seven transformative decades in England, delving into the complex relationships of a remarkable family. In 1940, David Sparsholt arrives at Oxford to study engineering, aiming to join the Royal Air Force. Charismatic and athletic, he remains unaware of his impact on others, particularly Evert Dax, the lonely son of a celebrated novelist destined to become a writer. Amid the chaos of war and the Blitz in London, Oxford serves as a backdrop of fleeting beauty and secret liaisons. A friendship between David and Evert develops, leading to unexpected consequences throughout the narrative. This novel explores David Sparsholt's legacy across three generations, revealing the shifts in taste, morality, and private life through vividly rendered episodes: a Sparsholt holiday in Cornwall, eccentric gatherings at the Dax family home, and the adventures of David's son Johnny, a painter in 1970s London. It captures the dynamics of a group of friends united by art, literature, and love. Ultimately, it reflects on the increasing openness of gay life while meditating on human transience and the deep longing for permanence and continuity.
The Sunday Times Novel of the Year 'With The Stranger's Child, an already remarkable talent unfurls into something spectacular' Sunday Times In the late summer of 1913, George Sawle brings his Cambridge friend Cecil Valance, a charismatic young poet, to visit his family home. Filled with intimacies and confusions, the weekend will link the families for ever, having the most lasting impact on George's sixteen-year-old sister Daphne. As the decades pass, Daphne and those around her endure startling changes in fortune and circumstance, reputations rise and fall, secrets are revealed and hidden and the events of that long-ago summer become part of a legendary story, told and interpreted in different ways by successive generations. Powerful, absorbing and richly comic, The Stranger's Child is a masterly exploration of English culture, taste and attitudes over a century of change. 'I would compare the novel to Middlemarch . . . a remarkable, unmissable achievement' Independent 'Magnificent . . . universally acclaimed as the best novel of the year' Philip Hensher
Exploring themes of race, class, sexuality, and identity, the narrative follows Dave Win, a biracial boy navigating life from his scholarship to a prestigious boarding school in the 1960s. As he encounters the complexities of privilege and prejudice, the story delves into his journey through queer culture, unrecognized talent in theater, and a fulfilling late-life marriage. With a blend of beauty and pain, the novel captures the intricacies of modern England and the impact of societal expectations on personal identity and relationships.