Set in 1936 in Belgium and Ceylon, Smoke Portrait traces the development of an unlikely friendship between a young Belgian teenager, Marten Kuypers, and Glen Phayre, a young English woman in her twenties.

Synopsis

Glen has left England to live with her aunt, who runs a tea plantation in Ceylon and fills her days with good works, among them the task of writing letters to a Belgian prisoner. But the letters go astray, and are received instead by Marten, eager to discover the wide world outside his small village, and desperately missing his older brother Krelis, who has vanished and is presumed dead. Marten decides to reply to Glen in the guise of the grown-up prisoner she is expecting to hear from, and as their correspondence evolves, they both assume identities that, while false in many respects, remain true to their own selves in other ways. Gradually they come to depend on each other, and their pen friendship proves to be crucial when events in their real lives take on a darker, more threatening significance in the shadow of the impending world war.

Reviews

'This is a great novel, it is not afraid to examine the racism of the settlers, the different factions heading towards the second world war, but it doesn't preach or lecture, it's a fantastic story and it's almost a surprise to look up from it and find you're not in the clubhouse avoiding the heat of the day, sipping a gin.' - Female Life Style Magazine

About the Author

Trilby Kent studied at Oxford and the LSE and worked for a time in the rare books department of a London auction house. She has written for the Canadian and British national press and in 2010 was shortlisted in the Guardian's International Development Journalism Competition. She is the author of two novels for children and is currently pursuing a PhD in Creative Writing at Exeter University. She lives in London. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation