"Set in the aftermath of the American Civil War, this remarkable historic novel tells a hauntingly beautiful tale of rebuilding lives, family bonds, race and humanity."
Richly characterful and raw, with touches of magic, Jayne Anne Phillips’ Night Watch is a sublime story of recovering from trauma. Fans of immersive historic fiction are sure to fall for this treasure hook, line and sinker.
Set in 1874, with the strains and brutalities of the Civil War looming large over countless lives, twelve-year-old ConaLee and her mother, Eliza, are taken to a lunatic asylum by a war vet. Eliza hasn’t uttered a word for a year, so they’ve come for her to be healed, with ConaLee playing the part of her maid.
In time, Eliza makes progress, as mother and daughter become enmeshed in asylum life and the folks they meet there, among them the man known as Night Watch, a child called Weed, and the kindly doctor who practices “Moral Treatment”. At the same time, we discover their poignant family history, and learn about ConaLee’s father who never returned from the war. Above all, we learn about survival, rebuilding and endurance.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Other Genres: |
From one of our most accomplished novelists, a mesmerizing story about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in a mental asylum in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War.
In 1874, in the wake of the war, trauma haunts civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee and her mother, Eliza, who hasn't spoken in more than a year, arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital's entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their lives. There, far from family, a beloved neighbour, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.
The twin horrors of war and race rise to the surface as we learn their history: their flight to the highest mountain ridges of western Virginia; the disappearance of ConaLee's father, who left for the war and never returned. Meanwhile in the asylum, they begin to find a new path. ConaLee pretends to be her mother's maid; Eliza responds slowly to treatment. They get swept up in the life of the facility - the mystery behind the man they call the Night Watch; the child called Weed; the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen; the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution.
Epic, enthralling and meticulously crafted, Night Watch is a brilliant portrait of family endurance against all odds and a stunning chronicle of surviving war and its aftermath.
Night Watch features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Family Drama, General Fiction, Fiction
Night Watch is available in Paperback, Hardback
Night Watch was written by Jayne Anne Phillips and published by Fleet an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group
Night Watch has 304 pages
£19.80
