July 2012 Guest Editor Barbara Erskine on the Starbridge series...
Susan Howatch’s Starbridge series ideally needs to be read in the right order. The Church of England features here, with all the agonising we are becoming used to in real life, but with a deliciously sinister and supernatural edge. The books span a good part of the twentieth century, moving from the cathedral close to the modern city of London.
Beneath the smooth surface of an Episcopal palace lurks the salacious breath of scandal. Charles Ashworth is sent to untangle the web of self-delusion and corruption only to become embroiled in a strange menage a trois that threatens to expose the secrets of his own past! In Glittering Images tension and drama combine in a compelling novel of people in high places, of desperate longings and the failure to resist them, of lies and evasions, of tarnished realities behind brilliant glittering images.
'Susan Howatch may well be the Anthony Trollope of the 20th century. Howatch is more than just a novelist of ideas! She is a skilled storyteller who makes the reader wonder, and care about her people.' ANDREW GREELEY, Washington Post
'Rich in human interest, sex, scandal, moral crises and a good deal of humour, it is a book to keep you hooked throughout' Sunday Times
'Howatch writes thrillers of the heart and mind ! everything in a Howatch novel cuts close to the bone and is of vital concern' New Woman
'Susan Howatch! is writing for anyone who can recognise that mysterious gift of the true storyteller.' Daily Telegraph
'One of the most original novelists writing today' Cosmopolitan
'Howatch's outstanding gifts as storyteller are combined here with a new seriousness of theme; the result is a superior novel.' Publishers Weekly
'One of the most original novelists writing today' Cosmopolitan
Author
About Susan Howatch
Susan Howatch was born in Surrey in England. After taking a degree in law at King's College, London, she emigrated to America where she married, had a daughter, and embarked on her career as a writer. In 1976 she separated from her husband, left America and lived in the Republic of Ireland for four years before returning to England. While living in a flat overlooking Salisbury Cathedral and trying to hold my divided self together , she found herself inspired by the beauty of the cathedral and became a convert. She wondered if she should continue producing romantic novels. Instead, she wrote the series of six Starbridge novels about the Church of England in the 20th century, all of which reflect her own spiritual crises.
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