Rebecca F. John

London, 1926: Henry Twist's heavily pregnant wife leaves home to meet a friend. On the way, she is hit by a bus and killed, though miraculously, the baby survives. Henry is left with nothing but his new daughter - a single father in a world without single fathers. He hurries the baby home, terrified that she'll be taken from him. Racked with guilt and fear, he stays away from prying eyes; walking her through the streets at night, under cover of darkness.But one evening, a strange man materialises from the shadows and addresses Henry by name. The man says that he has lost his memory, but that his name is Jack. Henry is both afraid of and drawn to Jack, and the more time they spend together, the more Henry sees that this man has echoes of his dead wife. His mannerisms, some things he says... And so Henry wonders, has his wife returned to him? Has he conjured Jack himself from thin air? Or is he in the grip of a sophisticated con man? Who really sent him?Set in a London reeling and recovering from the First World War, where English life is enjoying a vibrancy again, The Haunting of Henry Twist is a novel about the limits and potential of love and of grief. It is about the lengths we will go to to hold on to what is precious to us, what we will forgive of those we love, and what we will sacrifice for the sake of our own happiness.

The Haunting of Henry Twist

A feminist reimagining of the story of Fantine, the much-loved character from Victor Hugos classic novel Les Miserables, its many dramatisations and the musical. Publishing on Victor Hugos birthday. From prize-winning author of the Costa Awards shortlisted title The Haunting of Henry Twist.

Fannie

Onstage again, you stare down at your feet, imagining you see the bright, painted curves of a pair of clown's shoes... It helps to pretend you are a clown, hidden inside baggy trousers, your true face invisible behind splashes of red lipstick and pale powder... A dazzling debut collection from a young talent, these critically acclaimed stories dip into the shadows and spotlights of life. From the pale waking hours to the darkling places, Clown's Shoes introduces us to a cast of lost characters trying to find their way, and asking whether everyone really does come salting home in the end? Since the Devil visited the glove maker, she has found herself in the asylum counting out days instead of stitches. At the dog track, hidden amongst the rowdy punters, a woman bets on underdogs, life and love. In a small Welsh town, a young Korean immigrant tells her secrets to the sway of the sea and, as day breaks over the estuary, a woman watches the cockle pickers' clumsy dance routine, over a decade since her daughter disappeared. Yearning for fame, an inexperienced magician dices with death. In the Warsaw Ghetto, two sisters bargain for their lives. In sad, wet London, a neglected girl prostitutes herself to feed her family whilst onstage, somewhere ago, a desperate mother performs a nightly striptease. The people who populate Clown's Shoes are lonely, they are frightened, and most of all they are full of hope.

Rebecca F. John

About

Books

Join the club