An Equal Stillness

Authors Club Best First Novel, 2010

Paperback / ISBN-13: 9780753825655

Price: £9.99

Select a format:

ebook

Disclosure: If you buy products using the retailer buttons above, we may earn a commission from the retailers you visit.

Winner of the Orange Award for New Writers 2009

Artist, lover, wife, mother: can one woman be them all?


Born in 1924, Jennet Mallow grew up with a disillusioned mother and a father haunted by memories of war. But Jennet has a talent – and a passion – for art. When she meets the handsome painter David Heaton they begin a tempestuous affair which takes them from the dank terraces of London to a bohemian artistic community in St Ives. But as Jennet’s career flourishes, her relationship with David suffers – with potentially tragic consequences . . .

‘The most beautiful, accomplished debut I have read for a long time . . . It is a powerful novel by a supremely talented artist’ OBSERVER

‘Enchanting . . . exquisitely written’ DAILY EXPRESS

‘A masterful portrait of a woman forging an unexpectedly dazzling career against the backdrop of familial duty’ EASY LIVING

What's Inside

Read More Read Less

Reviews

This is an outstanding literary debut, with masterful variation in style and characterisation of deep insight
BOOKSELLER PAPERBACK PREVIEW
A new star has arrived on the literary scene.
AN Wilson, EVENING STANDARD
What distinguishes this tale...is Kay's fine balance of romance and realism and her beautiful evocation of how paintings reflect their creator's experiences.
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
The supple, verbless sentences of Fracesca Kay's accomplished first novel create a sensuous prose full of colour, taste and smell.
Anthony Cummins, DAILY TELEGRAPH
one dazzingly brilliantly executed scene after another...A marvel.
INDEPENDENT
An impressive debut novel that paints a vivid portrait of a woman torn between the conflicts of creativity and familial duty.
DAILY EXPRESS
sensual...Francesca Kay knows - and shows - how good art takes on a life all of its own.
INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
The most astounding success lies in the conjuring up of a lifetime's work - a glorious succession of paintings brought to sustained, poetic life.
ART NEWSPAPER
an absorbing and ambitious debut
GUARDIAN