Shadowplay

Shadowplay

The gripping international bestseller from the author of Star of the Sea

Summary

Discover the enthralling Richard & Judy Book Club pick from international bestseller Joseph O'Connor.

'The best novel that I've read in the last twenty years... It's fantastic' RICHARD MADELEY

'Breathtaking... A hugely entertaining book about the grand scope of friendship and love' Sadie Jones, Guardian

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London, 1878. Three extraordinary people begin their life together - and the idea for Dracula is born.

Fresh from life in Dublin, Bram Stoker - now manager of the Lyceum Theatre - is wrestling with dark demons in a new city, in a new marriage, and with his own literary aspirations. As he walks the streets at night, streets haunted by the Ripper and the gossip which swirls around his friend Oscar Wilde, he finds new inspiration. Soon, the eerie tale of Dracula begins to emerge.

But Henry Irving, volcanic leading man and impresario, is determined that nothing will get in the way of Bram's dedication to the Lyceum. And both men are growing ever more enchanted by the beauty and boldness of Ellen Terry, the most celebrated actress of her generation.
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Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2019
Winner of the Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year


'A colourful tale of secret love and public performance...in a romantic, lost London' The Times

'Hugely entertaining and atmospheric' DEBORAH MOGGACH

'Extraordinary' SEBASTIAN BARRY

'A novel I'd recommend to anyone: a rollicking and moving story' James Naughtie, Radio Times

'Fabulous... A truly great book you simply cannot put down' JUDY FINNIGAN

'Rich, sad, funny, and a beautiful read. You'll LOVE it' RICHARD MADELEY

'Ingenious...hugely impressive and utterly haunting' Sunday Mirror


*JOSEPH O'CONNOR'S STUNNING NEW NOVEL, MY FATHER'S HOUSE, IS AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW*

Reviews

  • Dazzling...the panache and subtlety of his prose perfectly match that gusto and creative finesse of the High Victorian world his novel wonderfully evokes
    Sunday Times

About the author

Joseph O'Connor

Joseph O'Connor was born in Dublin. His books include Cowboys and Indians, Inishowen, Star of the Sea (American Library Association Award, Irish Post Award for Fiction, France's Prix Millepages, Italy's Premio Acerbi, Prix Madeleine Zepter for European novel of the year), Redemption Falls, Ghost Light (Dublin One City One Book Novel 2011) and Shadowplay (Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year, Costa Novel of the Year shortlist). His fiction has been translated into forty languages. He received the 2012 Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Literature and in 2014 he was appointed Frank McCourt Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick.

www.josephoconnorauthor.com
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