"Bloomsbury presents At Hawthorn Time by Melissa Harrison, read by Helen Ayres.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2015
LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILEYS WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2016
Four-thirty on a May morning: the black fading to blue, dawn gathering somewhere below the treeline in the east. A long, straight road runs between sleeping fields to the little village of Lodeshill, and on it two cars lie wrecked and ravished, violence gathered about them in the silent air. One wheel, upturned, still spins.
Howard and Kitty have recently moved to Lodeshill after a life spent in London; now, their marriage is wordlessly falling apart. Custom car enthusiast Jamie has lived in the village for all of his nineteen years and dreams of leaving it behind, while Jack, a vagrant farm-worker and mystic in flight from a bail hostel, arrives in the village on foot one spring morning, bringing change. All four of them are struggling to find a life in the modern countryside; all are trying to find ways to belong.
Building to an extraordinary climax over the course of one spring month, At Hawthorn Time is both a clear-eyed picture of rural Britain, and a heartbreaking exploration of love, land and loss. C 2015 Melissa Harrison P 2022 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC"
"Bloomsbury presents Clay by Melissa Harrison, read by Sarah Durham.
Eight-year-old TC skips school to explore the city’s overgrown, forgotten corners. Sophia, seventy-eight, watches with concern as he slips past her window, through the little park she loves. She’s writing to her granddaughter, Daisy, whose privileged upbringing means she exists in a different world from TC – though the two children live less than a mile apart.
Jozef spends his days doing house clearances, his nights working in a takeaway. He can’t forget the farm he left behind in Poland, its woods and fields still a part of him, although he is a thousand miles away. When he meets TC he finds a kindred spirit: both lonely, both looking for something, both lost. C 2013 Melissa Harrison P 2022 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC"
"The most important job in the world
This treasury of wisdom, humor, and love is a guide for every step of the exhilarating, sometimes exasperating journey that begins with those three wonderful words: It's a boy! Its hundreds of lessons from mother to son include instilling values and confidence. Knowing when to say yes, and when to say no.
It's filled with the importance of nurturing responsibility: Teach him that the world will judge him by his actions, not his intentions. Fun stuff: Have tea with him in the afternoons. Serve cookies. And when he's ready to go: Hug him fiercely."
"Helping her to blossom
You know just how she feels: her joy, her curiosity, her will to take on the world. And why she needs the guidance of the person who's closer than close: you. This inspiring companion, filled with wisdom and values and the poetry of daily life, is full of lessons about courage, kindness, respect, boys, her father, dressing up, and all that a mother can do to nurture her daughter as she grows into a woman.
It's filled with helpful reassurance: Tickle her, play with her, give her piggyback rides. She's not breakable. And accepting bittersweet reality: When it's time—Let her go."
"WINNER OF THE EU PRIZE FOR LITERATURE
The autumn of 1933 is the most beautiful Edie Mather can remember, although the Great War still casts its shadow over the fields and villages around her beloved home, Wych Farm. Constance FitzAllen arrives from London to document fading rural traditions and beliefs. For Edie, who must soon face the unsettling pressures of adulthood, the glamorous and worldly outsider appears to be a godsend. But there is more to the older woman than meets the eye. As harvest time approaches and pressures mount on the entire community, Edie must find a way to trust her instincts and save herself from disaster.
“A masterpiece.” JON MCGREGOR
'Impossible to forget.' THE TIMES
'Astonishing.' GUARDIAN
'Startling.' FINANCIAL TIMES
“A powerful and lyrical coming-of-age story from a writer who is fast establishing herself as one of the best contemporary exponents of the pastoral novel” OBSERVER
'BOOK OF THE YEAR' NEW STATESMAN, OBSERVER, IRISH TIMES, BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE"
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