At the Edge of the Orchard
Author(s): Tracy Chevalier
The sweeping and compelling new novel from the bestselling author of Girl with a Pearl Earring. 'Dark, brutal, moving, powerful' Jane Harris 'A wonderful book; rich, evocative, original. I loved it' Joanne Harris What happens when you can't run any further from your past? Ohio, 1838. James and Sadie Goodenough have settled in the Black Swamp, planting apple trees to claim the land as their own. Life is harsh in the swamp, and as fever picks off their children, husband and wife take solace in separate comforts. James patiently grows his sweet-tasting 'eaters' while Sadie gets drunk on applejack made fresh from 'spitters'. Their fighting takes its toll on all of the Goodenoughs - a battle that will resonate over the years and across America. Fifteen years later their youngest son, Robert, is drifting through Gold Rush California and haunted by the broken family he fled years earlier. Memories stick to him where mud once did. When he finds steady work for a plant collector, peace seems finally to be within reach. But the past is never really past, and one day Robert is forced to confront the brutal reason he left behind everything he loved.
In this rich, powerful story, Tracy Chevalier is at her imaginative best, bringing to life the urge to wrestle with our roots, however deep and tangled they may be.
Product Information
Praise for At the Edge of the Orchard: 'Dark, brutal, moving, powerful' Jane Harris 'A wonderful book; rich, evocative, original. I loved it' Joanne Harris 'It's her best since Girl with a Pearl Earring, telling the story both of America and a pioneer family with acuity, freshness and zest. I was captivated by it' Amanda Craig 'Tracy Chevalier serves up a rollicking yarn of 19th-century America. What Deborah Moggach did for tulips, Chevalier may well do for apples' THE TIMES 'With Chevalier's excellent storytelling ability and gift for creating memorable characters, this novel paints a vivid picture of the hard and rough-hewn life of American pioneers on their Westward journey' Starred Library Journal Review Praise for The Last Runaway: 'I have always admired Tracy Chevalier's un-showy brilliance, and this moving story of a young English Quaker girl trapped between duty and conscience in 1850s Ohio is the best thing she's written since Girl with a Pearl Earring' Rose Tremain The Last Runaway is a joy to read. Chevalier handles the intersection of two stories - those of pioneering Quakers and escaping slaves - with verve, imagination and, above all, compassion' Maggie O'Farrell 'Her best since Girl With a Pearl Earring... as a serious novel about a genuine moral dilemma, it is highly recommended' THE INDEPENDENT 'Chevalier immerses herself in period and place. Her research, as always, is meticulous and lightly worn... an entertaining read' THE GUARDIAN 'A gripping and potent novel which shows Chevalier at the height of her powers' THE EXPRESS
Tracy Chevalier is the author of eight novels, including The Last Runaway, Remarkable Creatures and Girl with a Pearl Earring an international bestseller that has sold over five million copies and won the Barnes and Noble Discover Award. Born in Washington DC, in 1984 she moved to London, where she lives with her husband and son.
General Fields
- :
- : HarperCollins Publishers
- : The Borough Press
- : 0.58
- : 10 March 2016
- : 227mm X 159mm
- : United Kingdom
- : books
Special Fields
- : Tracy Chevalier
- : Hardback
- : 813.6
- : 304
