whatsapp logo
Image of The House of Doors

The House of Doors

Tan Twan Eng

From Shelf: The BA Summer Books Catalogue

From the Booker-shortlisted author of The Garden of Evening Mists comes an evocative, rich tale of love, betrayal and morality in 1920s Penang

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2023LONGLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTIONA SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA FINANCIAL TIMES, NEW STATESMAN, NEW YORKER AND WASHINGTON POST BOOK OF THE YEARIt is 1921 and at Cassowary House in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Robert Hamlyn is a well-to-do lawyer and his steely wife Lesley a society hostess. Their lives are invigorated when Willie, an old friend of Robert's, comes to stay.Willie Somerset Maugham is one of the greatest writers of his day. But he is beleaguered by an unhappy marriage, ill-health and business interests that have gone badly awry. He is also struggling to write. The more Lesley's friendship with Willie grows, the more clearly she see him as he is - a man who has no choice but to mask his true self.As Willie prepares to leave and face his demons, Lesley confides secrets of her own, including how she came to know the charismatic Dr Sun Yat Sen, a revolutionary fighting to overthrow the imperial dynasty of China. And more scandalous still, she reveals her connection to the case of an Englishwoman charged with murder in the Kuala Lumpur courts - a tragedy drawn from fact, and worthy of fiction.From Man Booker Prize-shortlisted Tan Twan Eng, The House of Doors is a masterful novel of public morality and private truth a century ago. Based on real events it is a drama of love and betrayal under the shadow of Empire.

Format:
Hardback
Pages:
320
Publisher:
Canongate Books
ISBN:
9781838858292
Published Date:
18/5/2023
Dimensions:
240mm x 162mm x 31mm
Weight:
536g
Category:
Historical fiction

RRP: £20

Format: Hardback

ISBN: 9781838858292


Shelves containing this book

Official Indie Fiction Bestsellers (week 20, 2023)
Viewing 1 to 1 of 12 books
Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Longlist
Viewing 1 to 1 of 11 books
Some of our favourite new titles - Fiction
Viewing 1 to 1 of 13 books