Richard Beard

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The Soul of Rugby

Muddied Oafs

Inside the secretive world that shaped Boris Johnson

Sad Little Men

Dry Bones

Damascus

How to Beat the Australians

The Day That Went Missing

Acts of the Assassins

One Life, Two Friends, Three Genders

Becoming Drusilla

A Novel of [Not] Smoking

Lazarus Is Dead

Discover the Penguin books that shaped us

As gripping as a thriller and endlessly thought-provoking... Surprising, spellbinding, witty and utterly original

Lazarus is Dead is a delightful falsehood - a brilliant novel and a shining example of the gospel untruth

This clever and original book keeps the reader guessing until the death - and beyond

An idiosyncratic delight...Yet again, Beard shows himself to be one of our most inventive novelists

A brilliant reimagining of the Lazarus story...wry, incisive and surprisingly moving (Favourite Books of 2011)

Ultimately it is the narrative voice - cultivated, wry, yet not too knowing to sustain a note of wonder - that makes this novel so compelling

He can stir emotion quickly and simply... his essayistic digressions temper the mythic luminosity of his subject

Beautiful prose...this is a challenging, thoughtful read, even for the die-hard heathen

Beard writes with sharp clarity; short unadorned sentences that contain an unforced, incisive wit....Lazarus's legend continues to fascinate in this totally original book

A fascinating mixture of fiction and academic essay...using biblical sources and other, less orthodox ones, Beard weaves a compelling tale portrait of first-century Israel, of Jerusalem with its factions and sects, and of Jesus, Lazarus's enigmatic friend, as he makes his journey towards the Cross

I finished the book at a sitting. What makes it so gripping is Beard's limitless curiosity.

The approach is unusual, the narrative bold and exhilarating...this book with its melding of fiction and non-fiction, critical analysis and detective work, consolidation and controversy, is a potent combination that breathes life not only into the 'imaginative representations' of historical events but also into the possibilities of what we think a novel might be able to achieve.

So good it's almost off the scale for me. Brave, brilliant and utterly readable.

What would you do, given the second chance of a lifetime? 
 
Like most men in their thirties, Lazarus has plans that don't involve dying. He's busy. Life is good. 
 
But he can't cheat destiny. 
 
Lazarus dies. Jesus weeps. Lazarus returns to life. This part we all know. 
 
But as Lazarus is about to find out, returning from the dead isn't easy. He thinks he wants a second chance at life, but what will he do when he gets it?

Meet Lazarus - hero of the best story about second chances ever told

Richard Beard’s most recent book is Acts of the Assassins, which was shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize. 
 
In the twenty years since his first book he has published critically acclaimed novels and narrative non-fiction, including Becoming Drusilla, the story of how a friendship between two men was changed by a gender transition. 
 
He was formerly Director of the National Academy of Writing in London, and is now a Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo and has a Creative Writing Fellowship at the University of East Anglia. He is an optimistic opening batsman for the Authors Cricket Club.

Lazarus Is Dead

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As gripping as a thriller and endlessly thought-provoking... Surprising, spellbinding, witty and utterly original

Lazarus is Dead is a delightful falsehood - a brilliant novel and a shining example of the gospel untruth

This clever and original book keeps the reader guessing until the death - and beyond

An idiosyncratic delight...Yet again, Beard shows himself to be one of our most inventive novelists

A brilliant reimagining of the Lazarus story...wry, incisive and surprisingly moving (Favourite Books of 2011)

Ultimately it is the narrative voice - cultivated, wry, yet not too knowing to sustain a note of wonder - that makes this novel so compelling

A thoughtful, enjoyable book

He can stir emotion quickly and simply... his essayistic digressions temper the mythic luminosity of his subject

Beautiful prose...this is a challenging, thoughtful read, even for the die-hard heathen

Beard writes with sharp clarity; short unadorned sentences that contain an unforced, incisive wit....Lazarus's legend continues to fascinate in this totally original book

About Richard Beard

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