The Twisted Heart

(Paperback, Main)

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Description

Kit, a work-obsessed literature student, decides on a whim to go to a dance class. And for a while it looks like Joe, the shadowy figure she meets there, may tempt her to put her books aside and live a little.

But as Joe's world becomes increasingly threatening and Kit's research leads her to an extraordinary historical mystery, she is faced with a choice. Will she hide herself away in her studies or will she make the leap of faith that could change her existence forever

The Twisted Heart is both a hugely enjoyable novel about the challenges of love and a startling exploration of previously unrecognised links between the young Charles Dickens and the deranged murder of a prostitute known as The Countess. Brilliantly weaving these threads together, it confirms Gowers as one of the most exciting voices in Britain today.

Reviews

* A genuinely puzzling historical murder mystery linking Dickens to the gruesome murder of a prostitute ... Fresh and clever and very funny. Guardian * Gowers's writing is absolutely beautiful. The Times Really a contemporary love story, and a very good one too ... This is fine writing ... sharp, acute, comic and true to life. -- Allan Massie Scotsman 20090321 * Gowers is a genius. -- Scarlett Thomas * Singularly convincing an genuinely moving ... Twenty-first-century love is laid tenderly but unflinchingly bare in this ultimately strange and lingering novel. Independent on Sunday * A dark delight of a novel. -- Tina Jackson Metro 20090414

Author Bio

Rebecca Gowers is the author of The Swamp of Death (Hamish Hamilton), the true story of a fatal showdown between a late Victorian conman and a corrupt detective, shortlisted for the 2004 CWA non-fiction Golden Dagger Award, and of a debut novel, When to Walk (Canongate), longlisted for the Orange Prize, 2007.