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Books Do Furnish A Room
Books Do Furnish A Room
Nov 16, 2025 2:28 PM

Author:Anthony Powell

Books Do Furnish A Room

'He is, as Proust was before him, the great literary chronicler of his culture in his time.' GUARDIAN

'A Dance to the Music of Time' is universally acknowledged as one of the great works of English literature. Reissued now in this definitive edition, it stands ready to delight and entrance a new generation of readers.

In this tenth volume, Nick Jenkins and his circle of friends are re-establishing their lives in the wake of war. With the London literary scene starting to find its feet again, things begin to look up for Nick as old acquaintance Quiggin offers him a position at the literary magazine he is launching. Meanwhile, there already seems to be trouble in paradise for the newly married Widmerpool, whose wife, Pamela Flitton, has caught the eye of writer X. Trapnel – a man who exudes in equal measure mystery, talent and an air of self-destruction.

Reviews

One of the great novel-sequences in English Literature – a wonderful portrait of society, full of insight into the complexities of human behaviour, richly detailed and shrewdly funny.

—— William Boyd

Discovering Anthony Powell’s "A Dance to the Music of Time" has been one of the greatest pleasures of my reading life. The cool elegance of the prose, the deliciously dry humour, the confident choreography of his characters made for an incomparable treat. Twelve volumes was simply not enough.

—— Michael Palin

The novels of Powell’s “A Dance to the Music of Time” themselves move hand in hand in intricate measure through the last century, bearing wisdom and understanding for the present. In an ever-quicker, ever-shallower world, his steadiness and wit reliably escort the reader into depth and patience. Nobody gives pattern to the spectacle of human existence like Powell.

—— Louisa Young

“A Dance To The Music of Time” is an epic, elegant masterpiece, so full of lightness and comedy that you're unprepared for how it quietly wrecks your heart.

—— Lauren Groff

Powell’s novel sequence is at once a rich chronicle of 20th-century English social life and an intricately wrought work of art. It is also extremely funny, in its sly fashion.

—— John Banville

Reading “A Dance to the Music of Time” was such a joyous experience, I remember wishing there'd been more than twelve volumes.

—— Roddy Doyle

I re-read the "Dance" every five years or so and always find something new – the world has changed but the characters are evergreen. Everybody has a Widmerpool in their life.

—— Daisy Goodwin

He has wit, style, and panache, in a world where those qualities are in permanently short supply

—— The New York Review of Books

A masterful stylist and a wise, often hilarious observer of human nature and his times, Anthony Powell is an under-appreciated literary gem. The pleasures and dramas of the "Dance" continue to illuminate daily life.

—— Claire Messud

[A] comic masterpiece

—— Irish Times

Comic, satisfying, thought-provoking, addictive

—— The Telegraph

It's his supreme skill in mastering a lengthily interwoven chronicle, the evolution of such a range and variety of pin-point characters, the wit and the cultural ambition that give the novel a unique place in English literature.

—— Melvyn Bragg

Jade does what uncounted sexual assault survivors have dreamed of doing - she takes matters into her own hands. What ensues is part [...] revenge fantasy, part diabolically well-planned manipulation, and it's all done in lyrical prose that feels dreamy and so much like Shakespeare. A gorgeous, scorchingly emotional novel

—— Wendy Heard, author of Hunting Annabelle and The Kill Club and cohost of Unlikeable Female Characters podcast

This revenge fantasy told from the point of view of a rape survivor will shock and awe.

—— School Library Journal

THIS BOOK WILL BE YOUR NEXT OBSESSION. Welcome to the Hazel Wood, where bad luck is a living thing, princesses are doomed, and every page contains a wondrously terrible adventure - it's not safe inside these pages, but once you enter, you may never want to leave.

—— Stephanie Garber, Bestselling Author of Caraval

Katz's debut is one that will have readers gripped from the very first words until the last - and a book that will stay with you for a long while afterwards.

—— Her.ie

[A] smart debut, both compelling and disturbing, delivered with the kind of confidence that makes me keen to see what Katz will come up with next.

—— A Life in Books Blog

[G]ripping debut … Here’s a page-turner you’ll devour before the week is out

—— Stylist Daily Newsletter

A razor sharp psychological deconstruction of the motivations, regrets and secrets behind a picture-perfect façade.

—— The Week

White-knuckle ride

—— RTE Guide

I really wanted to just press the book into anyone’s hands and say ‘please read this’! [...] An important read

—— Bookish Chat

Readers hungry for an in-depth study of a man searching for control, power and ownership will find satisfaction in A Good Man. But caveat emptor - this story inevitably hurtles at the end towards a chilling finale

—— Crime Review

This stellar debut from Ani Katz had us gripped from the beginning.

—— That’s Life!
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