Winter

"[This] beautifully restrained novel, a meditation on aging, marriage and loss, fictionalizes a well-known period in Thomas Hardy's life" ( The New York Times ). A November morning in the 1920s finds an elderly man walking the grounds of his Dorchester home, pondering his past and future with deep despondence. That man is the revered novelist and poet Thomas Hardy, and this is a fictionalized account of his final years from the celebrated author of The Elephant Keeper . The novel focuses on true events surrounding the London theater dramatization of Hardy's acclaimed novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles , including Hardy's hand-picked casting of the young, alluring Gertrude Bugler to play Tess. As plans for the play solidify, Hardy's interest in Gertie becomes a voyeuristic infatuation, causing him to write some of the best poems of his career. However, when Hardy's reclusive, neglected wife, Florence, catches wind of Hardy's desire for Gertie to take the London stage, a tangled web of jealousy and missed opportunity ensnares all three characters—with devastating results. Told from the perspectives of Hardy, Gertie, and Florence, Winter is "a meditation on love, regret, and an elusive yearning for happiness" ( Kirkus Reviews, s tarred review). "A book for grown-ups, one that finds the acme of human happiness in a young mother looking out at a starry winter's night, while she holds her baby in her arms." — The Washington Post " Winter is quietly intelligent and compassionate, but what stands out most is that it is gorgeously, gorgeously written in prose so elegantly crafted that it becomes, paradoxically, almost invisible. It never shouts, never startles, just moves lithely along with an almost miraculous sense of rightness." — Minneapolis Star-Tribune A November morning in the 1920s finds an elderly man in his eighties walking the grounds of his Dorchester home, pondering his past and future with deep despondence. That man is the revered novelist and poet Thomas Hardy, and Christopher Nicholson's fictionalized account of the final years of the accomplished writer's life is as engrossing as it is heartbreaking. The novel focuses on the true events that occurred around the London theater dramatization of Hardy's acclaimed novel Tess of the D'Ubervilles, including Hardy's hand-picked casting of the young, alluring Gertrude "Gertie" Bugler of The Hardy Players to play Tess. As plans for the play become more concrete, Hardy's interest in Gertie becomes a voyeuristic infatuation, causing him to write some of the best poems of his career. However, when Hardy's reclusive wife, Florence, catches wind of Hardy's desire for Gertie to take the London stage, a tangled web of jealously and missed opportunity ensnares all three characters-with devastating results. Told from the perspectives of Hardy, Gertie, and Florence, Nicholson's novel perfectly captures the often-difficult juxtaposition of fledgling hopes and the unfulfilled life. With expert insight into the struggles of both Hardy and Florence, coupled with poetic yet unassuming prose, Winter is certainly on par with the novels of its central character. From the Trade Paperback edition. From the author of the Costa Best Novel-shortlisted 'The Elephant Keeper', a poignant imagining of Thomas Hardy's relationship with his last muse. A celebrated author, in the winter of his life, awaits a visit from a beautiful young actress - the leading lady in a staging of his most famous tragedy. But his wife is troubled. An anxious and sickly woman, she watches the growing intimacy between her husband and the young woman, and becomes tormented by the idea that they will betray her. In this delicately-wrought novel, Christopher Nicholson has been inspired by the true story of the first theatrical production of 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' to paint a subtle and moving portrait of life's little ironies, its disappointments and its desires A fictionalized account of the final years of Thomas Hardy's life sees the premiere of the London theatre production of his acclaimed "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" and his obsessive infatuation with the show's star revealed to his reclusive wife.