Description

Kit is waiting expectantly for life to begin. Orphaned as a young child, he recoils from his adoptive parents’ mundane existence, drawn instead to the bohemian world of his Uncle Col and Col’s charismatic wife Marianne. Amid the permissive atmosphere of Erringby, Marianne’s rambling family mansion, Kit becomes increasingly obsessed with his aunt.

One debauched summer, the eighteen-year-old Kit wakes to find himself in bed with Marianne. But what happened? And who is his sudden mysterious benefactor? As Kit grapples with the ramifications of that night, he, Marianne and Col find their lives spiralling out of control.

Unfolding against the changing cultural landscape of the seventies, eighties and nineties, ‘Erringby’ is a captivating coming-of-age novel with echoes of ‘Great Expectations’.

Publisher Review

'An astonishingly accomplished first novel, a new voice telling a classic tale - richly imagined, cleverly adapted and thoroughly enjoyable.' - Ami Rao, author of 'David and Ameena'; 'A complex human drama, a beautifully written novel of exquisite poignancy.' - Anna South, consultant editor; 'A novel that plays along fault lines of class, family and sexuality with a cool wit and a compelling, raunchy intelligence. Gill Darling is a writer with a tender touch and a wicked turn of phrase; a winning combination.' -Ross Raisin, author of 'A Natural'