English Correspondence

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Description

The first novel from the hugely acclaimed Janet Davey was longlisted for the Orange prize and widely praised - 'a superb piece of writing' (Joanne Harris) and 'an engrossing novel' Observer Sylvie is half French and half English. Since the death of her mother, she has written weekly letters to her father in London. When he too dies unexpectedly, she waits for the letter she knows he must have posted before his death. And, as she waits, her carefully ordered and controlled life finally begins to unravel. Brilliantly observed, delightfully witty and beautifully written, English Correspondence condenses all the major questions of adult life - love, marriage, children, and grief - into the time it takes to arrange a funeral and find a missing letter.

Reviews

Striking first novel. Davey writes beautifully * Daily Telegraph *
To read this novel is to feel one's life improved, one's faith in the moral force of art secured. Davey's book will last, and carry retrospective weight with her ancestors among the best novelists, both English and French * Evening Standard *
A book of such unobtrusive artistry and insight * The Times *
A superb piece of writing - elegant and subtle in a way you don't see very often these days. Janet Davey is a writer of tremendous presence whose remarkable ability to observe characters and their lives results in a truly enthralling story. It's difficult to believe this is a first novel * Joanne Harris *
Delicate, subtle, entirely lacking in brashness-I purred over its sheer intelligence, its quiet wit * Margaret Forster *

Author Bio

Janet Davey is the author of English Correspondence, which was longlisted for the 2002 Orange Prize, First Aid, The Taxi Queue and By Battersea Bridge. She lives in London.