Cressida Connolly Bücher

"BAD RELATIONS tells the story of a family fractured by history, geography and desire. On the battlefields of the Crimea, William Gale cradles the still-warm body of his brother. William's experience of war is to bring about a change in him that will reverberate through his family over the next two centuries. In the 1970s, William's English descendants invite Stephen, a distant Australian cousin, to stay in their bohemian house in Cornwall - but their golden summer entanglements will end in a dramatic fall from grace. Half a century later, a confrontation between the surviving members of the family culminates in a terrible reckoning. Cressida Connolly's magnificent new novel is a tale of a tragedy that seeps through generations, and a family forced to confront what they truly value in life."--Provided by publisher.

'I always wanted to be friends with both my sisters. Perhaps that was the source, really, of all the troubles of my life...' It is the summer of 1938 and Phyllis Forrester has returned to England after years abroad. Moving into her sister's grand country house, she soon finds herself entangled in a new world of idealistic beliefs and seemingly innocent friendships. Fevered talk of another war infiltrates their small, privileged circle, giving way to a thrilling solution: a great and charismatic leader, who will restore England to its former glory. At a party hosted by her new friends, Phyllis lets down her guard for a single moment, with devastating consequences. Years later, Phyllis, alone and embittered, recounts the dramatic events which led to her imprisonment and changed the course of her life forever. 'Wonderfully subtle and compelling' Linda Grant 'Uncanny, evocative, atmospheric' Sunday Times 'Connolly is a terrifically subtle writer... [she] slyly sweeps her readers into the period drama as tensions tauten between families and social classes' Daily Telegraph 'Wonderful, tragicomic... beautifully researched' The Times