Alys, Always
A Novel
On a bitter winter’s night, Frances Thorpe comes upon the aftermath of a car crash and, while comforting the dying driver, Alys Kyte, hears her final words. The wife of a celebrated novelist, Alys moved in rarefied circles, and when Frances agrees to meet the bereaved family, she glimpses a world entirely foreign to her: cultured, wealthy, and privileged. While slowly forging a friendship with Alys’s carelessly charismatic daughter, Frances finds her own life takes a dramatic turn, propelling her from an anonymous existence as an assistant editor for the books section of a newspaper to the dizzying heights of literary society.
Transfixing, insightful, and unsettling, Alys, Always drops us into the mind of an enigmatic young woman whose perspective on a glamorous world also shines a light on those on the outside who would risk all to become part of it.
Transfixing, insightful, and unsettling, Alys, Always drops us into the mind of an enigmatic young woman whose perspective on a glamorous world also shines a light on those on the outside who would risk all to become part of it.
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Book details:
- Scribner |
- 240 pages |
- ISBN 9781451673173 |
- January 2013
$18.99 List Price
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Praise
“This highly entertaining and squirm-inducing short novel that Frances herself might reductively pitch to her boss in the books department as Howards End meets All About Eve.….A breezy, lacerating first novel.”
– New York Times Book Review
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“This highly entertaining and squirm-inducing short novel that Frances herself might reductively pitch to her boss in the books department as Howards End meets All About Eve.….A breezy, lacerating first novel.”– New York Times Book Review
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“A taut debut novel.”– New York Times
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“Harriet Lane writes with style, wrapping her suspenseful debut in lovely bits of gently creepy description, as well as delicious social critique…a fast, sharp read.”– Boston Globe
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“A deft and lively brain-twist of a thriller for which the only word that seems apropos is ‘spellbinding.’”– Chicago Tribune
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“Controlled and precise, Lane’s writing bewitches with its undertones of implied meanings and carefully hidden secrets. This is a gem. -Kirkus (starred review)”
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“Lane’s wry debut delves into the political machinations of London’s literary scene.”– Publishers Weekly
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“Harriet Lane’s mesmerizing debut novel, Alys, Always, is a slow-burning psychological novel that unsettles and satisfies in equal, tantalizing measure--a literary All About Eve that stands testament to the old saying that it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for.”– The Daily Beast
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“This novel begins with a bang and delivers all sorts of surprises, but manages some accute and moving observations...A very fine debut. Lane works out her dramatic premise with great originality.”– The Times (UK)
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“Wonderfully observed...This is a gripping, psychologically complex achievement, whose greatest success is its lingering sense of unease.”– The Telegraph (UK)
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“[An] exceptional first novel...In Frances [Harriet Lane] has created a character Daphne du Maurier might have been prood of: vulnerable, manipulative, resourceful, chippy, but one of us.”– Financial Times (UK)
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“This chilling and accomplished debut is in classic Ruth Rendell territory. Crucially, the author knows the trick of what to leave out, and of how to tantilise.”– The Independent (UK)
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“A superbly disquieting psychological thriller...Lane is a formidable wordsmith, and the literary world is conjured up in all its delicous, gossipy hierarchy....Mordantly funny, yet chilling, this tale of an ordinary woman inveigling her way into a position of power is compulsive reading.”– The Spectator (UK)
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“Superbly, even poetically written with an almost feverish hyper-realism, this All About Eve for our times misses no telling detail...A brilliant idea, brilliantly realized. I loved it, loved it. I've run out of superlatives and all that remains to say is that I wish I was you; I wish I hadn't read it and had that pleasure to come.”– Daily Mail (UK)
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“Fabulous... Like its narrator, Alys, Always is unforgettable”– USA Today
Read an Excerpt
The Highgate house is set back rather grandly from the street: gravel, gateposts, the humped suggestion of a shrubbery. A dingy pile of old snow is lying in the lee of the garden wall, evidently out of reach of the winter sun on the rare occasions when it might appear; otherwise little sign of it is left in the front garden, and the wide front steps have been scraped clear of ice. Apart from the glow of the stained-glass fanlight—smoky-purple grapes spilling forth from a golden horn—the house is dark. It’s five o’clock, teatime, but could just as well be midnight.
A security light clicks on as I walk up the... see more
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Book Reviews
Reading Group Guide
This reading group guide for Alys Always includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.
Introduction
Frances Thorpe’s life as an assistant editor for the books section of a struggling newspaper is neither exhilarating nor remarkable until a chance encounter on a rainy night changes her life forever.
While driving back to London after a weekend at her parents' home in the country, Frances notices a car that has crashed along the side of the road. After calling for an ambulance, Frances comforts the woman in the driver’s seat, and hears her final words. When the family wants to meet and thank her, Frances resists until she learns that the woman was Alys Kyte, wife of a famous English novelist. After easing the minds of the family members with her account of Alys’s last conversation, Frances strikes up an unlikely friendship with Alys’s daughter, the wealthy, careless and exuberant Polly. As the months go by, Frances gains access to the exclusive world of the literary elite, and becomes irrevocably bound to the Kyte family.
Topics & Questions for Discussion
1. When Sergeant Kate Williams first calls Frances about see more
Introduction
Frances Thorpe’s life as an assistant editor for the books section of a struggling newspaper is neither exhilarating nor remarkable until a chance encounter on a rainy night changes her life forever.
While driving back to London after a weekend at her parents' home in the country, Frances notices a car that has crashed along the side of the road. After calling for an ambulance, Frances comforts the woman in the driver’s seat, and hears her final words. When the family wants to meet and thank her, Frances resists until she learns that the woman was Alys Kyte, wife of a famous English novelist. After easing the minds of the family members with her account of Alys’s last conversation, Frances strikes up an unlikely friendship with Alys’s daughter, the wealthy, careless and exuberant Polly. As the months go by, Frances gains access to the exclusive world of the literary elite, and becomes irrevocably bound to the Kyte family.
Topics & Questions for Discussion
1. When Sergeant Kate Williams first calls Frances about see more
