England’s Lane
On sale
30th August 2012
Price: £9.99
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE: AS IF THE ROYLE FAMILY WERE WRITTEN BY MARTIN AMIS
‘Vibrant tragicomic slices of cosmopolitan Englishness’ Independent on Sunday
‘May well be his masterpiece . . . a rich and compelling drama of life’ Daily Mail
‘Virtuosic farce and razor-edged comedy of manners’ Independent
Jim and Milly. Stan and Jane. Jonathan and Fiona. Winter, 1959.
Three married couples: each living in England’s Lane, each with an only child, and each attending to family, and their livelihoods – the ironmonger, the sweetshop and the butcher.
Each of them hiding their lies, coping in the only way they know how.
‘He remains essentially a comic novelist, but one whose work has its dark, even sinister side . . . There is no other novelist today who writes quite like Connolly’ Scotsman
‘Vibrant tragicomic slices of cosmopolitan Englishness’ Independent on Sunday
‘May well be his masterpiece . . . a rich and compelling drama of life’ Daily Mail
‘Virtuosic farce and razor-edged comedy of manners’ Independent
Jim and Milly. Stan and Jane. Jonathan and Fiona. Winter, 1959.
Three married couples: each living in England’s Lane, each with an only child, and each attending to family, and their livelihoods – the ironmonger, the sweetshop and the butcher.
Each of them hiding their lies, coping in the only way they know how.
‘He remains essentially a comic novelist, but one whose work has its dark, even sinister side . . . There is no other novelist today who writes quite like Connolly’ Scotsman
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Reviews
'His masterpiece ... Connolly unfolds a rich and compelling drama of life that is anything but everyday, with Dickensian attention to detail, trademark black humour and a genuine love for his creations' Daily Mail.
'By turns hilarious and disturbing, it is the best novel I've read this year' Daily Mail.
'Already a writer to relish for virtuosic farce and razor-edged comedy of manners, Connolly excels with this deftly woven novel of London suburban dreams and dreads in 1959' Independent.
'1950s detail is evoked in all its oppressiveness, with the occasional half-wink to the reader signalling shifts in perception' Observer.
'the best novel I've read this year' Richard Littlejohn.
'pleasing and invigorating. There is no other novelist today who writes quite like Connolly' Scotsman.
'Comic, painful and utterly addictive - Connelly is in a class of his own' Stylist.
'The tone is chatty and intimate, which makes the dark spots all the more chilling' Times.
'A darkly humorous, colourful and deliciously indulgent caricature of a rampant postwar England' Timeout.