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Ancestry
Shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction
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Ancestry
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
The beautiful novel from the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Glass Room and The Girl Who Fell from the Sky.
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Description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION
'Utterly absorbing, cleverly constructed and beautifully written' The Times
'Moving and exhilarating' Spectator
'Evokes the messiness and fragility of everyday life in the nineteenth century' Daily Mail
Almost two hundred years ago, Abraham, an illiterate urchin, scavenges on a Suffolk beach and dreams of running away to sea. Naomi, a seventeen-year-old seamstress, imagines a new life in the big city. George, a private soldier of the 50th Regiment of Foot, marries his Irish bride, Annie, in the cathedral in Manchester and together they face married life under arms. Now these people exist only in the bare bones of registers and census lists, but they were once real enough.
Simon Mawer puts flesh on our ancestors' bones to bring them to life and give them voice. There is birth and death; there is love, both open and legal but also hidden and illicit. Yet the thread that connects these disparate figures is something that they cannot have known - the unbreakable bond of family.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Ancestry by Simon Mawer has been praised for its absorbing and beautifully written narrative, blending archival research with fictionalised life histories. Reviewers commend its moving and exhilarating storytelling, particularly highlighting its gripping portrayal of women's lives and military hardships in the Victorian era. Mawer's prose is described as elegant, evoking the fragility of nineteenth-century life, and the book is noted for its powerful blend of historical fiction and imaginative non-fiction.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780349144979
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 01 June 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Abacus
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 32.0mm
Width: 124.0mm
Height: 196.0mm
Weight: 340g
Pages: 432
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About the Author
Simon Mawer was born in 1948 in England, and spent his childhood there, in Cyprus and in Malta. He then moved to Italy, where he and his family lived for more than thirty years while he taught at the British International School in Rome. He and his wife currently divide their time between Italy and Hastings. Simon Mawer is the author of several novels including the Man Booker shortlisted The Glass Room, The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, Tightrope and Prague Spring.
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