Description

‘Her gallery of personages is huge, her scene painting superb, her pathos controlled, her humour quiet and civilised’ – Anthony Burgess

‘Glittering characterisation, sharp and eloquent writing’ – Sunday Telegraph

‘Wonderfully entertaining’ – Observer

Bucharest, 1940. The city is on the brink of invasion and Guy and Harriet Pringle find their position growing ever more dangerous. Harriet longs for safety, while Guy’s idealism frustrates his new wife. But when the Germans march in, Guy believes they must separate in a desperate bid to find safety, so Harriet leaves for Athens. The Spoilt City is a dramatic and colourful portrait of a city in turmoil, and of a young couple struggling to make their marriage work in the face of adversity.

Publisher Review

One most salute the brilliance ... the exactness of sights and sounds, the precise touches of light and scent, the gestures and entrances. * Guardian * So glittering is the overall parade ... and so entertaining the surface that the trilogy remains excitingly vivid; it amuses, it diverts and it informs, and to do these things so elegantly is no small achievement * Sunday Times * A fantastically tart and readable account of life in eastern Europe at the start of the war -- Sarah Waters Wonderfully entertaining * Observer * Magnificent ... full of wit, sharp insight and vivid description. * The Times *