An exquisite slow-burn forbidden love story, laced with passion and faith. Rome, 1953. David is young, handsome, charismatic, and sworn to celibacy. He is freshly ordained, and about to return to England to begin life as a priest. Devotion to God is all he''s ever known, and all he thinks he ever will. In London, Margaret is entangled in an impossible love affair. Increasingly drawn to the Church, she sets out to join the new revolutions of sex and faith. Decades later, she is being cared for by her grandson, who has just discovered the strange truth of his family history. Stephanie Sy-Quia''s A Private Man is a stunning story of devotion and sacrifice, and of the consequences of our actions that ripple throughout generations.

Autorentext

Stephanie Sy-Quia's first book of poetry, Amnion, won the 2021 Forward Prize for Best First Collection, an Eric Gregory Award, and a Somerset Maugham Award. It was longlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, the Laurel Prize, and the Royal Society of Literature's Ondaatje Prize. Her writing has appeared in the Financial Times, The Guardian, The Boston Review, The White Review, Five Dials and Granta, among others. She lives in London.

Klappentext

'It's a rare pleasure to read this novel' - Sarah Moss

*'*A rich, elegant and textured novel . . . brilliant' - Seán Hewitt

'Truly Outstanding' - Melissa Harrison

An exquisite slow-burn forbidden love story, laced with passion and faith.

Rome, 1953. David is young, handsome, charismatic and sworn to celibacy. He is freshly ordained, and about to return to England to begin life as a priest. Devotion to God is all he's ever known.

In London, Margaret is entangled in an impossible love affair. Committed to living on her own terms without sacrificing her faith, she becomes drawn to a women's movement challenging the archaic rules of the Church.

When their lives are thrown together at a Catholic college in a quiet village, an undeniable connection forms between them. And so begins a story of forbidden love, sacrifice and secrets, with consequences that will reverberate across the generations.

Stephanie Sy-Quia's A Private Man is a stunning story of devotion and sacrifice, and of the consequences of our actions that ripple throughout generations.