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The Innocent Party

By Celia Dale
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Brief Description
She was happy, safe in the joy of being now the only one for Dad, absorbed in caring for him. Twelve-year-old Linda Dalton is besotted with her father, Dennis, who can do no wrong. Everyone and everything else pales in comparison, including Linda's sharp mother, Vera.... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2799
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Releases 12th January 2027 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "The Innocent Party" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

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Twelve-year-old Linda Dalton is besotted with her father Dennis. Everyone else pales in comparison, including her sharp mother, Vera. When cracks begin to show in Vera and Dennis's relationship, Linda weaves a web of chaos that leads to a dramatic crisis. Celia Dale's darkest novel begs the question: is there such thing as an innocent party?

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

She was happy, safe in the joy of being now the only one for Dad, absorbed in caring for him.

Twelve-year-old Linda Dalton is besotted with her father, Dennis, who can do no wrong. Everyone and everything else pales in comparison, including Linda's sharp mother, Vera.

When cracks suddenly begin to show in the family, Linda weaves a web of chaos and confusion that leads to a dramatic crisis. Each character falls victim to the demands and pitfalls of city life, manipulating one another as London roars in the background.

An intensely human and surprising story, this is perhaps Dale's darkest novel, as we see Linda exposed to an adult world of death, desire and destruction and we begin to wonder: is there such thing as an innocent party?

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781917092784

Publisher: Daunt Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 24 September 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Daunt Books

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Camilla Grudova

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 272

Collections

Celia Dale Classic Crime & Mystery Fiction Classic Fiction Classic General Fiction Coming Soon in Fiction Crime & Thriller Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Pre-order Books Pre-order General Fiction Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date Psychological Thriller

About the Author

Celia Dale was born in 1912 and was once a secretary to Rumer Godden, and also worked as a publisher's advisor and a book reviewer. Her first novel, The Least of These, was published in 1943, and she went on to write twelve others, among them A Helping Hand, Sheep's Clothing and A Spring of Love. She won the 1986 Crime Writers' Association Veuve Clicquot Short Story Award for 'Lines of Communication', which appears in her only short story collection, A Personal Call and Other Stories. She died in 2011.

Also by Celia Dale

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  • A Helping Hand
    Middle-aged Josh and Maisie Evans lead an unremarkable, unassuming life. When Auntie Flo, who has lived with them for years, dies and leaves them her estate, they head to Italy on holiday to take in the sea air and let the sun soak into their bones. It's there they meet Mrs Fingal. A wealthy widow, she lives with her grown-up...
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  • Other People
    June and her father stared for a moment into each other's minds. He looked away first; and with a stab of joy June knew he was afraid of her and that she hated him. It is summer in small town Havenport. Protected from the world by her devoted mother, fifteen-year-old June is content and completely self-absorbed. Her biggest concern is...
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  • Sheep's Clothing
    Grace Bradby meets Janice in Holloway Prison. Grace is doing six months for larceny and Janice, three for the most recent of a series of clumsy shopliftings. Once both women are released, the more hapless Janice very quickly becomes accomplice to a scheme conniving Grace devised during her last weeks in prison: posing as representatives of the Social Services Agency,...
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  • A Spring of Love
    A Spring of Love by Celia Dale introduces us to Esther Williams, who is thirty and single. Her life is one of routine and order; she lives with her grandmother in a small house, takes a seaside holiday each year, and every Thursday, she goes to the cinema alone. Esther is uncertain if she is happy or unhappy; her life...
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