Helena Echlin

The collision of cultures, age, death and the terror of staying alive make this a most accomplished debut.

Dutiful and studious, Elizabeth has never been the rebel in her family. Now, in an attempt to bury her old self, she has moved to the deserts of the American Southwest to live in a house made out of beer cans with her boyfriend, Spencer, a crew-cut aficionado of country and western music. But memories of her unhappy adolescence prevent Elizabeth from embracing her new life and after proposing to Spencer to satisfy her dying grandmother's wish, Elizabeth is forced to return home to arrange an impromptu wedding. Once back in London, the discovery of disturbing secrets hampers her preparations and as the wedding date approaches, her family seems to be falling apart. Elizabeth must weigh the value of the American sincerity she has learned from Spencer against the repression that has been her family's lifelong habit. An intimate study of the unspoken passions of the English middle class, this exciting d-but novel is both poetic and gripping.

Gone

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Kate-Atkinson

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

prhuk-authors

Discover the Penguin books that shaped us

Helena Echlin

Praise for Gone

The collision of cultures, age, death and the terror of staying alive make this a most accomplished debut.

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter