A Son of War

The upheavals of WWII reverberated in the peace that followed, and many found a return to the old life more difficult than they had anticipated. Like Sam Richardson, who was determined to break free of the constraints of his background and leave Cumbria for the promised land of Australia. Yet now, a few months on, he has settled for a job in Wigton's paper factory, and believes he has put both his aspirations and his memories of fighting in Burma behind him. His wife, Ellen, begins to know better, realising how close to the brink their marriage had come. Between them their young son Joe strives to fulfil the conflicting expectations of childhood and adolescence and confronts his own demons. This is a formidable successor to Melvyn Bragg's widely praised and award-winning novel, THE SOLDIER'S RETURN

About the Author :
Melvyn Bragg's first novel, For Want of a Nail, was published in 1965 and since then his novels have included The Hired Man, for which he won the Time/Life Silver Pen Award, Without a City Wall, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, Credo, The Maid of Buttermere and The Soldier's Return, which was published to huge critical acclaim in 1999 and won the WHSmith Literary Award. He has also written several works of non-fiction including Speak for England, an oral history of the twentieth century, Rich, a biography of Richard Burton and On Giants' Shoulders, a history of science based on his BBC radio series. He was born in 1939 and educated at Wigton's Nelson Tomlinson Shool and at Oxford where he read history. He is controller of Arts at LWT and President of the National Campaign for the Arts, and in 1998 he was made a life peer. He lives in London and Cumbria.

Review :
Outstandingly good ...Must be one of the best English novels of the last ten years. It rings true; its characters matter...utterly credible, utterly compelling, and very enjoyable ... - Allan Massie, Scotsman Wholly absorbing - John Bayley, Evening Standard Sympathetic, touching, infinitely believable...a highly accomplished novel - Literary Review 'His masterpiece ... Bragg's finest novel to date - Peter Kemp, Sunday Times Books of the Year Reads like Lawrence ... Feels like the book Bragg was born to write - Time Out His study of a relationship between man and wife in difficulties is brilliantly convincing ... A passionately moving novel - Financial Times - Financial Times I like THE SOLDIER'S RETURN a lot. It is deeply felt, beautifully realised' John Sutherland, Sunday Times - Sunday Times Unsentimental, truthful and wonderful - Beryl Bainbridge, Sunday Times Books of the Year