120,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Enjoy overnight delivery from our 100% NZ-owned independent bookstore 🚀

Notes from an Exhibition

A thought-provoking and stunning classic novel of marriage, art and the secrets of family life
By Patrick Gale
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.88 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 9,078 ratings, 682 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale unravels the life of Rachel Kelly, a talented but troubled artist, through a series of retrospective notes arranged like a posthumous exhibition. Her complex relationships with family and struggles with mental health form the core of this narrative, painting a poignant picture of creativity, love, and redemption. Set against the backdrop of Cornwall, the novel intricately explores themes of memory and identity.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$9500

International Supplier

This title is in-stock with overseas suppliers. While it is not available locally, we fly books in weekly from the US and UK to our Auckland warehouse for immediate dispatch.

AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 2-3 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

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?

This book may appeal to you if you're intrigued by character-driven narratives that delve into the complexities of family dynamics and personal struggles. Set against the backdrop of Cornwall, the story unfolds through a series of notes and memories, offering a poignant exploration of creativity, mental health, and the ties that bind.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Set in Cornwall, the bestselling NOTES FROM AN EXHIBITION is an emotionally absorbing, psychologically intuitive novel of artistic compulsion, marriage, and the secrets left behind

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A bestselling 'Cornish' novel, Notes from an Exhibition is a moving, intuitive novel of artistic compulsion, marriage, and the secrets left behind. It was a Richard & Judy bestseller.

'Poised and pitch-perfect throughout' Mail on Sunday

Celebrated artist Rachel Kelly dies alone in her Penzance studio, after decades of struggling with the creative highs and devastating lows that have coloured her life. Her family gathers, each of them searching for answers. They reflect on lives shaped by the enigmatic Rachel—as artist, wife and mother—and on the ambiguous legacies she leaves them, of talent, torment and transcendent love.

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?

Patrick Gale's Notes from an Exhibition is widely praised for its superb characterisation and finely crafted prose. The novel is described as both engrossing and uplifting, offering a vivid portrayal of a complex character. Reviewers appreciate Gale's writing style as clear and radiant, with a depth and freshness that transcend conventional originality, capturing the essence of an English setting.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781472255389

Publisher: Headline Publishing Group

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 19 April 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Tinder Press

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 30.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 291g

Pages: 416

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Patrick Gale

About the Author

Patrick Gale was born on the Isle of Wight. He spent his infancy at Wandsworth Prison, which his father governed, then grew up in Winchester before going to Oxford University. He now lives on a farm near Land's End. One of this country's best-loved novelists, his most recent works are A Perfectly Good Man, the Richard and Judy bestseller Notes From An Exhibition, the Costa-shortlisted A Place Called Winter and Mother's Boy. His original BBC television drama, Man In An Orange Shirt, was shown to great acclaim in 2017 as part of the BBC's Queer Britannia series, leading viewers around the world to discover his novels.

Also by Patrick Gale

View all
  • Mother's Boy
    'Tender, evocative' TLS 'Richly engaging' Spectator A Radio 4 Serial Fiction Book of the Week 'A characteristically tender novel about a young man growing up in the shadow of one war and the whispers of the next' Observer 'A wonderful novel about relationships, particularly between a mother and son. A compelling read, beautifully crafted and sensitively written' Irish Examiner Laura,...
    By Patrick Gale
    Paperback
    $9500
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • Take Nothing With You
    'Absolutely one of his best - a wonderful, wonderful read' Stephen Fry 'Funny and heartfelt' Spectator From the bestselling author of A Place Called Winter comes a compassionate, compelling new novel of boyhood, coming of age, and the confusions of desire and reality. 'An incredibly beautiful story told with compassion. Nothing is wasted. Each sentence is beautifully crafted' Joanna Cannon...
    By Patrick Gale
    Paperback
    $9200
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • Love Lane
    With Love Lane, Gale gets right to the secret joys and hidden heartbreaks of ordinary, flawed family life. A tender, delicately devastating novel. Sarah Waters Love Lane moved me greatly. The novel has a great sweep, in its story, and in the richness and vividness of each of its characters. This is a book about secrets and lies, yet Gale...
    By Patrick Gale
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • A Perfectly Good Man
    Devastatingly moving and full of psychological insight, A Perfectly Good Man is a warm, humane Cornish novel from the bestselling author of A Place Called Winter. 'A convincing, moving account of man's struggle with faith, marriage and morality' Sunday Times On a clear, crisp summer's day in Cornwall, a young man carefully prepares to take his own life and asks...
    By Patrick Gale
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Rough Music
    Truly compelling and rich with emotional insight, Patrick Gale's Cornish novel, Rough Music, is a beautiful story of a marriage and the secrets a family holds. 'Sparkling with emotional intelligence. A gripping portrait of a marriage and the quiet, devastating fall-out of family life' Independent Julian is a contented if naive only child, and a holiday on the coast of...
    By Patrick Gale
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • A Place Called Winter: Costa Shortlisted 2015
    A Place Called Winter: Costa Shortlisted 2015
    In the golden 1900s, Harry Cane, a shy, eligible gentleman of leisure, is drawn from a life of quiet routine into courting and marrying Winnie, the eldest daughter of the fatherless Wells clan, who are not quite as respectable as they would appear. They settle by the sea and have a daughter, and conventional marriage does not seem such a...
    By Patrick Gale
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from General Fiction

View all
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    By Alison Espach
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Yesteryear
    A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE — Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE — Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE — Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS — Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale — Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...
    By Caro Claire Burke
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Dylan's Pick Dylan's Pick
    Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came from…His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance –...
    By Allen Levi
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl
    The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman-now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition! You know what's worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what's worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Fourth Wing
    THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NUMBER ONE GLOBAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON! DON'T MISS OUT ON THE SERIES THAT EVERYONE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT: 'This book contains an addictive, drug-like essence that will make you relinquish all responsibility until the very last word. Do not say I didn't warn you' Glamour 'I didn't sleep, I didn't eat, and when I finished, I...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
    Carl and Princess Donut have to team up with other contestants to not just survive, but to solve a deadly puzzle in this third, mind-twisting novel in the addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition! Carl and Donut have survived so far, but this fourth level is unlike anything they could imagine. The...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Hardback
    $4700
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Shirl's Pick Shirl's Pick
    Taipei Story
    TAIPEI STORY is the electrifying new novel by bestselling literary phenomenon Rebecca F. Kuang, a profoundly moving coming-of-age story that explores first love, second language and final goodbyes – all set against the backdrop of one unforgettable summer in Taipei. Yale student Lily Chen arrives in Taipei hungry: for family, for culture, for connection. But her summer of discovery quickly...
    By R.F. Kuang
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Gate of the Feral Gods
    The fourth book in the explosive LitRPG Dungeon Crawler Carl series New Achievement! Total, Utter Failure.You failed a quest less than five minutes after you received it. Now that's talent. Surviving in a multilevel dungeon that also happens to be the set of the galaxy's most watched game show has taught Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Hardback
    $6000
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Iron Flame
    The instant number one Sunday Times bestseller and thrilling sequel to the global phenomenon, Fourth Wing! DON'T BE THE LAST TO DISCOVER THE SERIES THAT EVERYONE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT: 'Yarros is the true inheritor of Harry Potter and inspires Hunger Games levels of devotion' Guardian 'Fear not, levels of fighting, rebelliousness and all-round sexiness are still sky-high' Daily Mail...
    By Rebecca Yarros
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Haunting Adeline
    VIRAL BOOKTOK SENSATION AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR! The Manipulator I can manipulate the emotions of anyone who lets me. I will make you hurt, make you cry, make you laugh and sigh. But my words don't affect him. Especially not when I plead for him to leave. He's always there, watching and waiting. And I can never look away....
    By H. D. Carlton
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Hardback
    $4699
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses
    The first instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON and TikTok sensation, from multi-million selling and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. Maas has established herself as a fantasy fiction titan – Time Harry Potter magic, Taylor Swift sass, Fifty Shades-level athleticism – The Sunday Times With bits of Buffy, Game of Thrones and Outlander, this is a glorious series...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

General Fiction lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all