Author:Margaret Kennedy

Romilly Brandon was heir to a fortune and the handsomest and liveliest young man in the county. But in his twenty-first year, the pretty daughter of the local parson, Jenny Newbolt broke his heart, and he left to live a dissipated life in London. Returning years later, Romily finds many surprises - his one-time sweetheart grown old and withered, and in possession of a great secret that shakes him to his core. When Romily finally learns the truth, is it too late to atone?
Margaret Kennedy caught just the taste of the time, mixing a stolid domestic Englishness with 'Continental' bohemians
—— Irish TimesShe is not only a romantic but an anarchist, and she knows the ways of men and women very well indeed
—— Anita BrooknerKennedy was immensely popular in her heyday
—— Washington PostKeeps you reading by dragging you from one hammer blow to the next.
—— ImagineFXThis is the real meat. The last zombie novel you'll ever need.
—— Warren Ellis, author of Gun Machine and Twisted Little VeinPeter Stenson has done the near impossible in delivering a savage fire-storm of a page-turner while also enabling a hard and earnest look at addiction and love. I tore through Fiend with the crazed fervor of an addict, but like all great stories these characters lingered in my thoughts long after I turned the last beautiful and brutal page.
—— Alan Heathcock, author of VoltWith a pared down snappy writing style, Fiend opens an exciting new chapter for modern horror.
—— Big Issue in the NorthNot a sentence or a thought out of place. It takes over as his finest fiction to date
—— Irish TimesRemarkable freshness and immediacy ... with a lovely comedic lightness
—— Daily MailA lovely, thoughtful book ... alive with authentic detail, moved along by the ripples of affection and doubt that shape any life: a novel that offers the reader serious pleasure
—— Daily TelegraphTremendously moving and powerful
—— New StatesmanThere is such elegant subtlety to this story
—— Irish IndependentThe Nobel laureate Patrick Modiano claims to have written a version of the same novel throughout his career; in a sense so has Petterson, but his anguished precision is such that no one should complain
—— TelegraphIlluminated by a clear and insightful knowledge of what it means to be human... Petterson is really a masterful depictor of contemporary life
—— Nordjyske, DenmarkI Refuse is, despite its apparent realism, a nearly magical literary experience... It simply does not get much better than this
—— Ekstra Bladet, DenmarkPetterson confirms his reputation as Scandinavia's leading realist writer...the heart-rending contrast between power and powerlessness, silence and speech is anchored in every word in these pages. And in the reader’s soul
—— Kristeligt Dagblad, DenmarkA masterpiece...at least as good as Out Stealing Horses... Intimate, shocking, demanding, raw
—— Morgenbladet, NorwayNorwegian literature's clearest shining star...a masterful novel about friendship, violence and destruction
—— Information, DenmarkA moving, complex short novel that is richer and more satisfying than most books several times its length
—— Daragh Reddin , Metro HeraldThe suspense isn’t in the plot but the prose, with its extraordinary looping sentences
—— Blake Morrison , Guardian WeeklyA harrowing account of childhood, of friendship, and of family disruption… Precise, scrupulous and emotionally intense… Peterson is a skilled storyteller… An admirable and honest novel.
—— Eibhear Walshe , Irish ExaminerWith an enchanting, poetic language Rachel Joyce writes about the fundamental questions of life and death.
—— 52buecher, GermanyLike Harold Fry, Queenie is delightful and dark. Death, duty and regret shadow nearly every page, but the darkness is not unrelenting; there is humor, and there is light.
—— Minneapolis Star TribuneThis lovely book is full of joy. Much more than the story of a woman’s enduring love for an ordinary, flawed man, it’s an ode to messy, imperfect, glorious, unsung humanity ... Her love song is for us. Thank you, Rachel Joyce.
—— Washington Post[A] deeply affecting novel…Culminating in a shattering revelation, her tale is funny, sad, hopeful: She’s bound for death, but full of life.
—— People MagazineA moving, lyrical read about life, love and saying goodbye. this is a companion story to the similarly entrancing The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, but could be read alone.
—— Cathy Rentzenbrink , Prima






