In the Springtime of the Year

Description

A beautiful, lyrical novel about love and loss, and grief and mourning from the author of A Kind Man and The Woman in Black After just a year of close, loving marriage, Ruth has been widowed. Her beloved husband, Ben, has been killed in a tragic accident and Ruth is left, suddenly and totally bereft. Unable to share her sorrow and grief with Ben's family, who are dealing with their pain in their own way, Ruth becomes increasingly isolated, burying herself in her cottage in the countryside as the seasons change around her. Only Ben's young brother Jo, is able to reach out beyond his own grief, to offer Ruth the compassion which might reclaim her from her own devastating unhappiness. The result is a moving, lyrical exploration of love and loss, of grief and mourning, from a masterful writer.

SUSAN HILL has been a professional writer for over fifty years. Her books have won awards and prizes including the Whitbread, the John Llewellyn Rhys and a Somerset Maugham, and have been shortlisted for the Booker. Her novels include Strange Meeting, I'm the King of the Castle, In the Springtime of the Year and The Mist in the Mirror. She has also published autobiographical works and collections of short stories as well as the Simon Serrailler series of crime novels. The play of her ghost story The Woman in Black is one of the longest running in the history of London's West End. In 2020 she was awarded a damehood (DBE) for services to literature. She has two adult daughters and lives in North Norfolk. www.susanhill.org.uk

One of those novels you never forget * The Times * I love this wonderful book... Just read it -- Jo Brand * BBC Radio 4, A Good Read * One of Hill's earlier, quieter masterpieces -- Emma Hagestadt * Independent * Immediately arresting...you come away affected, but there is a quiet, unhurried pace which is, incongruously, a lovely and fitting touch * bookgeeks.co.uk *