Bad Relations

Bad Relations

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

A TALE OF A TRAGEDY SEEPING THROUGH GENERATIONS, AND A FAMILY FRACTURED BY HISTORY AND DESIRE - available for pre-order now

'A writer who seems able to peer directly into the human heart' John Preston

On the battlefields of the Crimea, William Gale cradles the still-warm body of his brother. William's experience of war will bring about a change in him that will reverberate through his family over the next two centuries.
In the 1970s, William's descendants invite Stephen, a distant relation, to stay in their house in the English countryside - but their golden summer entanglements will end in a shocking fall from grace.

Half a century later, a confrontation between the surviving members of the family will culminate in a terrible reckoning.

Praise for AFTER THE PARTY:

'Uncanny, evocative, atmospheric' Sunday Times

'Connolly is a terrifically subtle writer... [she] slyly sweeps her readers into the period drama as tensions tauten between families and social classes' Daily Telegraph

'Profound and moving and completely original, with a storyline that is completely satisfying. It'll be one of those novels that stays in my mind forever... it's a work of art' Craig Brown

'I finished it in two days flat and I've never read anything quite like it' Hilary Spurling

'Wonderfully subtle and interesting... with a compelling voice' Linda Grant

© Cressida Connolly 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Reviews

  • A ravishing novel from the great family saga-teller Cressida Connolly and an honourable tribute to the past
    The Times, Best Books for the Summer

About the author

Cressida Connolly

Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more