The Facts of Life

The Facts of Life

Patrick Gale

Patrick Gale

A brilliant novel from the author of 'Notes from an Exhibition' – that follows three genrations of an unusual family as they confront the harsher facts of modern life. A young composer, Edward Pepper, is exiled from his native Germany by the war, struck down with TB, and left to languish in hospital. But when he falls in love with his doctor, Sally Banks, his world is transformed. But despite his new life with Sally, Edward is haunted by memories of his Jewish family, who he was forced to abandon. When he receives news that his sister has been found alive, it sets in motion a train of events that will test Edward and his family. Years later, Edward watches his grandchildren make their own lives and a few mistakes along the way. As they struggle to keep the family intact, they are forced to come to terms with some of the tougher facts of life.
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The Whole Day Through

The Whole Day Through

Patrick Gale

Patrick Gale

A woman has a second chance at love in this novel from the author of Richard & Judy bestsellers â??Notes from an Exhibitionâ?? and â??A Perfectly Good Manâ??. When forty-something Laura Lewis is obliged to abandon a life of stylish independence in Paris to care for her elderly mother in Winchester, it seems all romantic opportunities have gone up in smoke. Then she runs into Ben, the great love of her student days - and, as she only now dares admit, the emotional touchstone against which she has judged every man since. She's cautious - and he's married - but they can't deny that feelings still exist between them. Are they brave enough to take the second chance at the lasting happiness that fate has offered them? Or will they be defeated by the need to do what seems to be the right thing? Taking its structure from the events of a single summer's day, The Whole Day Through is a bittersweet love story, shot through with an understanding of mortality, memory and the difficulty of...
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Dangerous Pleasures

Dangerous Pleasures

Patrick Gale

Patrick Gale

A collection of Patrick Gale's most brilliant pieces of short fiction. The subjects are wide-ranging and various – curious childhood loyalties, long-hidden memories, newly discovered joys, startling secrets, dislocated relationships, overwhelming, thrilling passions. In prose which is vivid and fresh, Patrick Gale explores the subtle boundaries that shift between the fantastic and shockingly real. With characteristic insight and wit and with consummate ease, he draws the reader into lives both familiar and strange, revealing a world that shines with possibilities and will never fail to delight.
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