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Mother's Boy

A Beautifully Crafted Novel of War, Cornwall, and the Relationship Between a Mother and Son

by Patrick Gale

'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, a laundress, meets her young husband when they are both placed in service in Teignmouth in 1914. They have a baby, Charles, but his father returns home from the trenches a damaged man, already ill with the tuberculosis that will soon leave Laura a widow.

As a new war looms, Charles signs up for the navy as a coder. His escape from the tight, gossipy confines of Launceston to a more colourful life in action sees him blossom, as he experiences the possibility of death, and the excitement - even terror - of a love that is as clandestine as his work.
_______

'Stands with the best queer literary fiction of a historical bent, illuminated as it is by Gale's devilish wit and talent for both social observation and intricacies of character' Sydney Morning Herald

'A wonderful novel - a touching, utterly convincing portrait of the nascent artist' Mail on Sunday

'A deeply moving novel. The portrait of a complex relationship that constricted as much as it sustained is brilliantly done' The Tablet
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NON FICTION
LGBTQIA+ FICTION
LGBTQIA+

AUCK IN STOCK

WGTN IN STOCK

Pages:

416

Published:

31 Jan 2023

Format

Paperback

Publisher

Headline Publishing Group

ISBN:

9781472257420



'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, a laundress, meets her young husband when they are both placed in service in Teignmouth in 1914. They have a baby, Charles, but his father returns home from the trenches a damaged man, already ill with the tuberculosis that will soon leave Laura a widow.

As a new war looms, Charles signs up for the navy as a coder. His escape from the tight, gossipy confines of Launceston to a more colourful life in action sees him blossom, as he experiences the possibility of death, and the excitement - even terror - of a love that is as clandestine as his work.
_______



'Stands with the best queer literary fiction of a historical bent, illuminated as it is by Gale's devilish wit and talent for both social observation and intricacies of character' Sydney Morning Herald



'A wonderful novel - a touching, utterly convincing portrait of the nascent artist' Mail on Sunday



'A deeply moving novel. The portrait of a complex relationship that constricted as much as it sustained is brilliantly done' The Tablet
$28.00