Ask Alice
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:1st Apr '10
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
A wonderful novel of concealment and subterfuge, sweeping from Kansas to London, from 1904 to 1936, by the author of Kept - about a woman's rise and fall, the chances she takes and the secret which will undo her.
Glamorous Alice Keach is one of 1930s London's foremost hostesses. Despite humble American origins, she has secured her place in high society through marriage to one of England's wealthiest bachelors.
But Alice has a secret. Now, a visit from America looks set to blow apart Alice's glittering pre-eminence forever.
Glamorous Alice Keach is one of 1930s London's foremost hostesses. Despite humble American origins, she has secured her place in high society through marriage to one of England's wealthiest bachelors.
But Alice has a secret. Its roots run years back, and miles away, to the dust-blasted prairies of Kansas. It corncerns a lost little boy left under the haphazard guidance of an eccentric uncle. Now, a visit from America looks set to blow apart Alice's glittering pre-eminence forever.
A gripping page-turner filled with surprises, shocks and deep psychological insight... Intelligent, absorbing and most enjoyable * Independent on Sunday *
Utterly gripping reading... You are in for a treat * Literary Review *
DJ Taylor creates characters who have dynamic spirit and capture the imagination, while the story has the tension of a thriller, the sensitivity of a romance and the wit of an idiosyncratic adventure * Easy Living *
Ambitious and immensely accomplished ... above all a meditation on selfhood and memory * Guardian *
A highly accomplished novel. It is engrossingly plotted, and its depiction of the vibrant decade leading to the 1929 Crash offers an interesting parallel to our own times -- Simon Humphreys * Mail on Sunday *
Intelligent, absorbing and most enjoyable * Independent on Sunday *
Excellent ... the impenetrable, imperturbable Alice compels * Daily Mail *
Carefully constructed sets and a convincing commentary on social change -- Charlotte Moore * Spectator *
mesmerising novel paints pictures of many different worlds in the early 20th century...busting with detail... captivating * Books Quarterly *
When on song, which he often is here, Taylor is a felicitous, intelligent writer. He sets a scene with admirable clarity, peoples it with memorable characters, and offers a plot that will keep most readers hooked and satisfied for nigh on 350 pages. These days this is rarer than you might think -- Alan Taylor * The Herald *
ISBN: 9780099531982
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 21mm
Weight: 243g
352 pages