In Gaynor Arnold’s historical fiction, when a celebrated author’s wife of 20 years is excluded from his funeral she re-examines their life together.

The famous author Alfred Gibson’s funeral has taken place at Westminster Abbey, and Dorothea, his wife of 20 years, has not been invited. His will favours his children and a clandestine mistress over his estranged wife. Dorothea is left only with the comforts of her feisty youngest daughter Kitty, whose attempt to demonise her father challenges Dorothea’s memories. Dorothea begins to examine her life more closely, and uncovers the frighteningly hypnotic power of the man she married.

Longlisted
The Man Booker Prize 2008
Published by
Tindal Street Press
Publication date
Gaynor Arnold

Gaynor Arnold

About the Author

Gaynor Arnold’s first love was acting and she helped propel Christopher Hampton’s rise to stage fame when she played the lead in his first play, When Did You Last See My Mother?
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