Benjamin Wood

This story is told by Oscar, a young, bright working class man who has fallen in love with an upper-class Cambridge student, Iris, and thereby become entangled with a group of close friends. The group is led by Iris's charismatic, brilliant, possibly dangerous, brother, Eden -- a musical prodigy who believes he can adapt the theories of a forgotten Baroque composer to heal people. Oscar is persuaded into a series of disturbing experiments to prove Eden's claims. As the partition between genius and delusion blurs, the danger that awaits them all becomes desperately apparent.

The Bellwether Revivals

The mesmerising new novel from the acclaimed author of The Bellwether Revivals: a rich and immersive story of love, obsession, creativity and disintegration. On a forested island off the coast of Istanbul stands Portmantle, a gated refuge for beleaguered artists. There, a curious assembly of painters, architects, writers and musicians strive to restore their faded talents. Elspeth 'Knell' Conroy is a celebrated painter who has lost faith in her ability and fled the dizzying art scene of 1960s London. On the island, she spends her nights locked in her blacked-out studio, testing a strange new pigment for her elusive masterpiece. But when a disaffected teenager named Fullerton arrives at the refuge, he disrupts its established routines. He is plagued by a recurring nightmare that steers him into danger, and Knell is left to pick apart the chilling mystery. Where did the boy come from, what is 'The Ecliptic', and how does it relate to their abandoned lives in England?

The Ecliptic

Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach to scrape for shrimp; spending the rest of the day selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream.

When a striking visitor turns up, bringing the promise of Hollywood glamour, Thomas is shaken from the drudgery of his days and begins to see a different future. But how much of what the American claims is true, and how far can his inspiration carry Thomas?

Haunting and timeless, this is the story of a young man hemmed in by his circumstances, striving to achieve fulfilment far beyond the world he knows.

Seascraper

Cambridge, de nos jours. Au détour d'une allée du campus, Oscar est attiré par la puissance de l'orgue et des chants provenant de la chapelle de King's College. Subjugué malgré lui, il ne peut maîtriser un sentiment d'extase. Premier rouage de l'engrenage. Dans l'assemblée, une jeune femme capte son attention. Iris n'est autre que la soeur de l'organiste virtuose, Eden Bellwether, dont la passion exclusive pour la musique baroque s'accompagne d'étranges conceptions sur son usage hypnotique...

roman

Le complexe d'Eden Bellwether

Originally published: Great Britain: Scribner, 2015.

'Wood takes the passing, shabby details of mundane landscapes and makes them jitter and throb with yearning and menace. A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better is his best work yet - a novel written from the gut, and with a correspondingly visceral power. A superbly unsettling account of trauma and cautious recovery' SARAH WATERS The acclaimed author of The Ecliptic, Benjamin Wood writes a novel of exceptional force and beauty about the bond between fathers and sons, about the invention and reconciliation of self - weaving a haunting story of violence and love. For twenty years, Daniel Hardesty has borne the emotional scars of a childhood trauma which he is powerless to undo, which leaves him no peace. One August morning in 1995, the young Daniel and his estranged father Francis - a character of 'two weathers', of irresistible charm and roiling self-pity - set out on a road trip to the North that seems to represent a chance to salvage their relationship. But with every passing mile, the layers of Fran's mendacity and desperation are exposed, pushing him to acts of violence that will define the rest of his son's life. 'Tenderly dissecting the limits of love between parent and child while wriggling with a rich, thrilling tension, this palpably atmospheric story found its way beneath my skin and now lives there. Tell anyone who'll listen, Benjamin Wood is one of the best novelists in Britain' DAVID WHITEHOUSE 'A shocking account of extreme violence and its complicated after-effects. It is a vivid and unsettling novel filled with surprises and insights' IAN McGUIRE 'A heart-breaking and heart-stopping new novel; a dark Northern noir that moves at breakneck speed but never fails to be tender and vulnerable as well as visceral and terrifying' ANDREW McMILLAN 'A novelist to watch' The Times Praise for The Ecliptic, shortlisted for the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award: 'A resounding achievement . . . Rich, beautiful and written by an author of great depth and resource' Edward Docx, Guardian 'Full of suspense and beautifully written, superbly imagined and constructed . . . A terrifically gripping and playful book' Sunday Times 'Exhilarating, earthy, cerebral, frank and unflinching . . . A masterfully paced and suspenseful read' Independent 'A rich, intricate and layered work' Observer 'Haunts the imagination long after the final page' Independent on Sunday 'A gorgeous and harrowing work' Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven

A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better

'A shocking account of extreme violence and its complicated after-effects. It is a vivid and unsettling novel filled with surprises and insights' Ian McGuire, bestselling author of The North Water 'A heart-breaking and heart-stopping new novel; a dark Northern noir that moves at breakneck speed but never fails to be tender and vulnerable as well as visceral and terrifying' Andrew McMillan 'A novelist to watch' The Times The acclaimed author of The Ecliptic, Benjamin Wood writes a novel of exceptional force and beauty about the bond between fathers and sons, about the invention and reconciliation of self - weaving a haunting story of violence and love. For twenty years, Daniel Hardesty has borne the emotional scars of a childhood trauma which he is powerless to undo, which leaves him no peace. One August morning in 1995, the young Daniel and his estranged father Francis - a character of 'two weathers', of irresistible charm and roiling self-pity - set out on a road trip to the North that seems to represent a chance to salvage their relationship. But with every passing mile, the layers of Fran's mendacity and desperation are exposed, pushing him to acts of violence that will define the rest of his son's life. Praise for The Ecliptic, shortlisted for the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award: 'A resounding achievement . . . Rich, beautiful and written by an author of great depth and resource' Edward Docx, Guardian 'Full of suspense and beautifully written, superbly imagined and constructed . . . A terrifically gripping and playful book' Sunday Times 'Exhilarating, earthy, cerebral, frank and unflinching . . . A masterfully paced and suspenseful read' Independent 'A rich, intricate and layered work' Observer 'Haunts the imagination long after the final page' Independent on Sunday 'A gorgeous and harrowing work' Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven

Feeling apart from the privileged students who roam Cambridge's colleges and spires, nursing home assistant Oscar Lowe is drawn into the opulent world of the charismatic Bellwether siblings and falls in love with medical student Iris before realizing the dangers posed by troubled Eden Bellwether, who believes he can heal people with his music. A first novel. 20,000 first printing.

Roman | »Kraftvoll, ergreifend und poetisch. Eine dringende Empfehlung!« BENJAMIN MYERS

Der Krabbenfischer

Longferry, England, Sechzigerjahre. Thomas Flett ist Anfang zwanzig und lebt mit seiner Mutter in ärmlichen Verhältnissen. Seinen Vater hat er nie kennengelernt. Die Schule hat er abgebrochen, er verdingt sich als Krabbenfischer: ein Handwerk, das ihn sein Großvater gelehrt hat. Niemand kennt das Meer und seine Gezeiten so gut wie Thomas. Früh am Morgen bei Niedrigwasser fährt er mit Pferd und Kutsche los, um sich den Unterhalt für den Tag zu verdienen, ein Leben von der Hand in den Mund. Heimlich lernt er Gitarre spielen und träumt von Joan, der Schwester seines besten Freundes. Aber für Träume ist kein Platz in Longferry. Als der amerikanische Regisseur Edgar Acheson in der Stadt eintrifft, wird Thomas’ vermeintlich einfaches Leben erschüttert. Er bekommt eine Ahnung von der großen, weiten Welt, davon, was da draußen auf ihn warten könnte, und schließt Freundschaft mit dem Mann, der in jeder Hinsicht anders ist als er. Ein Funke in ihm ist entzündet – aber nichts ist so, wie es scheint. Nur eines ist sicher: Am nächsten Morgen bei Niedrigwasser wird Thomas wieder dem Ruf des Meeres folgen. Mit "Der Krabbenfischer" steht Benjamin Wood auf der Longlist für den renommierten Booker Prize 2025.

Roman | Longlist The Booker Prize 2025 | »Kraftvoll, ergreifend und poetisch. Eine dringende Empfehlung!« BENJAMIN MYERS

Ecliptic

Bellwether revivals

Station on the Path to Somewhere Better

'With his third novel, Wood's talent has burgeoned spectacularly. The book is a tremendous achievement, an unputdownable domestic thriller that is also subtle and moving ... travelling well beyond his earlier fiction, Wood has produced a tour de force that marks his creative arrival' David Grylls, SUNDAY TIMES 'A novel written from the gut, and with a correspondingly visceral power. A superbly unsettling account of trauma and cautious recovery' SARAH WATERS 'Elegant and disturbing ... this is a novel of expertly woven tension and frightening glimpses into the mind of the deranged other' John Burnside, GUARDIAN The acclaimed author of The Ecliptic, Benjamin Wood writes a novel of exceptional force and beauty about the bond between fathers and sons, about the invention and reconciliation of self - weaving a haunting story of violence and love. For twenty years, Daniel Hardesty has borne the emotional scars of a childhood trauma which he is powerless to undo, which leaves him no peace. One August morning in 1995, the young Daniel and his estranged father Francis - a character of 'two weathers', of irresistible charm and roiling self-pity - set out on a road trip to the North that seems to represent a chance to salvage their relationship. But with every passing mile, the layers of Fran's mendacity and desperation are exposed, pushing him to acts of violence that will define the rest of his son's life. Praise for The Ecliptic, shortlisted for the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award: 'A resounding achievement . . . Rich, beautiful and written by an author of great depth and resource' Edward Docx, Guardian 'Full of suspense and beautifully written, superbly imagined and constructed . . . A terrifically gripping and playful book' Sunday Times 'Exhilarating, earthy, cerebral, frank and unflinching . . . A masterfully paced and suspenseful read' Independent 'A rich, intricate and layered work' Observer 'Haunts the imagination long after the final page' Independent on Sunday 'A gorgeous and harrowing work' Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin has often been cited for its galvanizing effect on anti-slavery opposition in the years before the American Civil War. Southern sympathizers in the North (known as Copperheads) never came close to producing anything that matched its influence. One of the more interesting attempts was Fort Lafayette; or, Love and Secession (1862). The novel—which features liberal doses of love and lust, intrigue and violence, loyalty and death—is by no means great literature. It does, however, lay claim to being the only pacifist novel of the Civil War. Wood hoped to persuade his readers of the moral wrong, the folly, and the dangers to republican government of the war in which the country was engaged. The novel underscores the deep connections between Americans on both sides of the sectional conflict, the pain of their severance, and the suffering brought about by war. For this reissue, Menahem Blondheim has provided a detailed introduction to the novel, the politics of the era, and Wood's life and career. Two of Wood's Congressional speeches are also included.

Benjamin Wood's Fort Lafayette and Civil War America

Copperhead Gore

In the summer of 1952, Joyce and Charlie Savigear are waiting on a railway platform in the quiet English countryside. The siblings have just been released from borstal to start a new life as apprentices at Leventree, an architecture practice with a difference. The architects who've chosen them are Florence and Arthur Mayhood, a married couple motivated to give young offenders second chances. At first, they seem to offer the Savigears a steady path to happiness. But when a menacing figure from Joyce's past comes knocking, they are lured back to the world they left behind. Will the Mayhoods' goodwill be enough to steer their young apprentices away from danger, or will the darkness of their past catch up with them? ***PRAISE FOR BENJAMIN WOOD*** 'A novelist to watch' - The Times, on A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better 'A resounding achievement . . . Rich, beautiful and written by an author of great depth and resource' - Guardian, on The Ecliptic 'Exhilarating, earthy, cerebral, frank and unflinching . . . A masterfully paced and suspenseful read' - Independent, on The Ecliptic

The Young Accomplice

From the award-winning author of The Bellwether Revivals comes a "gorgeous and harrowing work" (Emily St. John Mandel) set on a mysterious island, where artists strive to recover their lost gifts--and where nothing is quite as it seems. Situated on a Turkish island, Portmantle might be the strangest, most exclusive artists' colony around. Its brilliant residents linger for years, all expenses paid and living under assumed names. Relieved of the burdens of time and ego, they are free to create their next masterpieces. Elspeth Conroy (aka "Knell") is a Scottish painter who has been at Portmantle for a decade, a refugee from the hectic London art scene. Her fellow longtimers include Quickman, whose sole book became a classic and paralyzed his muse; MacKinney, a playwright who left behind her family; and Pettifer, an architect obsessing over an unfinished cathedral. In his astonishing second novel, Benjamin Wood gives us “an intensely intimate portrait of an artist as a young woman, with truths on every page” (Independent). The hermetic world at Portmantle shatters when the 17-year-old Fullerton arrives at the gates, his provenance and talents unknown. As Knell searches for answers, she reveals the path that led her to this place: Her intimate bond with her gruff drunk of a mentor; her early successes and crushing failures; a journey across the Atlantic and into the psychiatrist's office; and a grand commission of astronomical significance. What is "The Ecliptic," and how does it relate to the life Elspeth left behind? This gorgeous puzzle of a novel touches the head and the heart, and the effect is nothing short of electrifying.

A Novel

VINCITORE DEL PREMIO SPECIALE EDOARDO KIHLGREN - OPERA PRIMA LETTERATURA EUROPEA Al termine di una giornata di lavoro come tante, il giovane Oscar si incammina verso casa. Passando accanto alla cappella del King’s College, viene attratto dal suono dell’organo e decide di entrare. Mentre si abbandona all’ascolto, incrocia lo sguardo di Iris Bellwether, studentessa di Medicina, violoncellista ed esuberante figlia della ricca borghesia di Cambridge. Oscar si innamora di lei all’istante e, poco a poco, viene accolto dalla sua cerchia di amici, un piccolo gruppo esclusivo che ha origini ben diverse dalla sua. Tra loro c’è anche Eden, il fratello di Iris, un personaggio misterioso, dal fascino ambiguo, convinto di poter curare le malattie attraverso la musica e l’ipnosi. Ma chi è, in realtà, Eden Bellwether? Un taumaturgo o solo un pericoloso seduttore, un manipolatore che tiene in scacco le persone che lo circondano piegandole alla propria volontà? Al suo romanzo d’esordio, Benjamin Wood rivela già un’indiscussa maestria narrativa, mettendo in scena una vicenda abilmente giocata sul confine sottile tra genio e follia, fede e ragione. Irretiti dal crescendo di tensione psicologica che alimenta ogni pagina, ci si lascia trascinare dagli eventi che incalzano, desiderosi di arrivare all’esito finale, di conoscere quanto è profondo l’abisso dell’animo umano.

Il caso Bellwether

"Cambridge, de nos jours. Au détour d’une allée du campus, Oscar est attiré par la puissance de l’orgue et des chants provenant de la chapelle de King’s College. Subjugué, il ne peut maîtriser un sentiment d’extase. Premier rouage de l’engrenage. Dans l’assemblée, une jeune femme capte son attention. Iris n’est autre que la sœur de l’organiste virtuose, Eden Bellwether, dont la passion exclusive pour la musique baroque s’accompagne d’étranges conceptions sur son usage hypnotique... Un premier roman magistral sur les frontières du génie et de la folie, entre thriller et roman d’apprentissage."

Benjamin Wood

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