An outstanding debut about the reverberations of a family tragedy and its effects on a woman who crossed the family's path. Includes Reading Group Notes.
Harriet Lane has worked as an editor and staff writer at Tatler and the Observer. She has also written for the Guardian, the Telegraph and Vogue. She lives in north London.
A marvellous novel. I absolutely adored it... So subtle, funny,
tender and so miraculously observed... Utterly brilliant
*Jilly Cooper*
Unsettling, unfussy and unputdownable
*David Baddiel*
A clever and original story by an amusing and interesting new
novelist
*Nina Bawden*
Unputdownable
*Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4*
Hugely enjoyable debut about 30-something Frances Thorpe, a lowly
sub-editor on the books pages of a Sunday paper who suddenly and
unexpectedly comes into contact with the family of a Man Booker
prize-winning author - and there sees an opportunity. Barbara
Vine-esque stuff
*THE BOOKSELLER*
If I could have a novel made to order; like a Savile Row suit, it
would probably be this one... Superbly, even poetically written
with an almost feverish hyper-realism, this All About Eve for our
times misses no telling detail of the difference between the
entitled and unentitled classes... A brilliant idea, brilliantly
realised. I loved it, I loved it. I've run out of superlatives and
all that remains to say is that I wish I was you; I wish I hadn't
read it and had that pleasure to come
*DAILY MAIL*
Harriet Lane's Alys, Always is a superbly disquieting psychological
thriller...Lane is a formidable wordsmith, and the literary world
is conjured up in all its delicious, gossipy hierarchy...Mordantly
funny, yet chilling, this tale of an ordinary woman inveigling her
way into a position of power is compulsive reading
*THE SPECTATOR*
this novel begins with a bang and delivers all sorts of surprises,
but also manages some acute and moving observations about
bereavement and grief. A very fine debut. Lane works out her
dramatic premise with great originality
*THE TIMES*
Wonderfully observed... Lane has her landscape forensically mapped.
This is a gripping, psychologically complex achievement, whose
greatest success is the lingering sense of unease
*SUNDAY TELEGRAPH*
This chilling and accomplished debut is in classic Ruth Rendell
territory. Crucially, the author knows the trick of what to leave
out, and of how to tantalise...Frances finds herself admitted to
the inner sanctum of London literary life, about which the author,
who knows whereof she writes, is most amusing... Lovely, sensuous
prose
*INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY*
Harriet Lane's exceptional first novel matches the twisted
motivations of Sophie Hannah to the social satire of Amanda Craig's
A Vicious Circle. In Frances she has created a character Daphne du
Maurier might have been proud of: vulnerable, manipulative,
resourceful, chippy, but one of us
*FINANCIAL TIMES*
Harriet Lane's take on contemporary class is so sharply observed
that it becomes almost satirical: the perennial theme of social
climbing gets a superb new treatment in her highly entertaining,
slightly chilling tale of a cuckoo in the nest
*THE SUNDAY TIMES*
Frances is a fascinating creation: determined, deceitful,
intriguingly complex and believably drawn...This deeply unsettling
but eminently readable story is one that will linger in the
memory
*THE OBSERVER*
Lane's narrative voice is captivating, absorbing the reader almost
immediately and throughout the novel's various episodes of
entanglement, separation and high drama...and her characters are
quirky and believable individuals. Alys, Always is a fine portrayal
of how people deal with loss and learn to accept "the tinpot
vulnerability of human existence"
*TLS*
this book really is that rarest of creatures, a sort of literary
unicorn: a stunning debut... The writing is tight, it's
compulsively readable and brilliantly controlled. Harriet Lane has
a deft economy when it comes to recording scenes descriptions and
dialogue. It is utterly believable in all respects
*THE LADY*
Dark, cynical and unpredictable
*SUNDAY EXPRESS*
A gripping debut. Frances Thorpe leads a mundane life until the day
she stops to help at a roadside accident. But, as this clever novel
unfolds, it becomes clear that the seemingly boring Frances is
capable of seizing an opportunity
*GRAZIA*
Amazing; chillingly brilliant
*RED MAGAZINE*
Harriet Lane brilliantly skewers the sycophancy that surrounds the
wealthy and successful, allowing their inner circle to bask in the
same intoxicating glow. The reader is reeled in hook, line and
sinker
*SUNDAY EXPRESS*
a suspenseful portrait of the outsider and a satisfyingly bitchy
send-up of literary London
*THE GUARDIAN*
Worthy of Daphne du Maurier, this is the book I wish I'd
written.
*MARIE CLAIRE*
One of the literary debuts of 2012, Harriet Lane's stylish thriller
combines an unreliable female narrator with some sly satire at the
expense of literary London.
*THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH*
A brilliant debut novel about a disturbed hack.
*THE OBSERVER*
Alys, Always is Lane's debut novel. Her ability to build suspense
and to slowly reveal aspects of character makes her one to
watch.
*EMERALD STREET*
Lane's take on contemporary class is so sharply observed that it
becomes almost satirical: the perennial theme of social climbing
gets a superb new treatment in her highly entertaining, chilling
tale of a cuckoo in the nest.
*THE SUNDAY TIMES*
A dark and delicious thriller, Alys, Always, the first novel by
Harriet Lane, is a book you immediately want to pass on to all your
friends.
*GOOD HOUSEKEEPING*
This seductive novel is as sinuous, sharp-eyed, shrewd and
controlled as its opportunistic heroine - a terrific read.
*THE MAIL ON SUNDAY*
Spot on social satire, chilling psychodrama and terrific writing -
Lane knows of whereof she speaks.
*THE INDEPENDENT*
The novel has the momentum of a thriller but not at the expense of
an economical lyricism - there is a lovely assurance to the
writing... It is a novel that will unsettle and make your heart
dip, long after you have put it aside.
*THE OBSERVER*
This is a creepy, cold novel in the tradition of Patricia
Highsmith. It's perfectly executed.
*EVENING STANDARD*
Horror, mystery and romance coalesce magically in this impressive
debut.
*CHOICE*
A compelling fiction debut about a family tragedy. Patricia
Highsmith would be proud. Mysterious and suspenseful
*TATLER*
Mesmerisingly told
*SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE*
A gripping portrait of the lengths to which one woman will go to
improve her lot
*WOMAN & HOME*
This accomplished debut is a fantastic read
*STAR magazine*
This intriguing first novel, set in the leafy groves of bookish
Highgate in North London is a morality tale with a dark sinister
undercurrent to rival that of Alan Hollinghurst's "The Line of
Beauty
*THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE*
Both clever satire on the (north) London literary scene and
compelling thriller worthy of Patricia Highsmith, [Alys, Always] is
unshowy and modest... Highly recommended
*THE TRANSMITTER*
It's uneasy but intriguing reading thanks to the accurate
illustration of her middle class characters.
*BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH*
Harriet Lane's novel of deceit and opportunism proves to be a dark
delight.
*THE SUNDAY BUSINESS POST*
highly entertaining and squirm-inducing..."Howards End" meets "All
About Eve"
*INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE*
As this subtle, ingenious, completely absorbing tale progresses, a
chilling and uneasy menace develops just below the surface.
*GOOD BOOK GUIDE*
This is a very concise and acute psychological study, at times
drily funny...always expertly observed, perfectly paced and
smoothly finished off...a novel of skill, elegance and flair, one
in which cool calculation and subtle manipulation move, as a cloud
in front of the sun, to chill and unsettle, that suddenly cast
shade revealing what in full light had been carefully concealed.
What is not hidden is Harriet Lane's talent - this is a brilliant
debut!
*www.cornflowerbooks.co.uk*
Chilling and compulsive, this psychological novel immediately draws
you in... Brilliantly crafted and sharply observed, this first
novel with its sense of unease and apprehension holds your
attention from the beginning to the end. It will stay with you for
a long time.
*TELEGRAPH & ARGUS*
This darkly subtle debut impresses with its du Maurieresque
style.
*HAM & HIGH*
An un-putdownable novel that forces you to revise your initial
assumptions.
*THE DISCARDED IMAGE*
She writes with both elegance and clarity, she balances suspense
with acute observation, and she understands her characters, their
relationships, the worlds they move in absolutely perfectly.
*FLEUR FISHER IN HER WORLD blog*
A subtle, beautifully observed and exquisitely written novel - the
sort of book you read in one beguiling go.
*HOUSE WITH NO NAME blog*
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