Description

For fans of Downton Abbey, Gosford Park and After the Party.

Duty, scandal, and a mother’s desperate attempt to protect her sons from a secret that will destroy them.

‘A breathtakingly good, heartbreaking and utterly absorbing story.’ Cressida Connolly, author of After the Party

‘Sumptuously detailed… Razor-sharp social observations and glimmers of catty wit.’ Telegraph

LONDON 1921 – Jean Buckman, a young and innocent American heiress arrives in England to find a society decimated by war but resolutely clinging to the status quo. She marries Edward Warre an engaging but complex man and the owner of a once great but now struggling estate.

As the marriage falters, Jean spends her summers in the South of France where she embarks on a passionate affair that will have repercussions for the rest of her life.

Two sons arrive, the oldest, heir to the estate, is not the true bloodline. But Edward needs Jean’s money to survive, and she needs her husband’s silence.

The Other Side of Paradise is the heart-breaking story of a family ripped apart by the shackles of inheritance and the rules imposed upon them by a society that cannot face the truth.

‘With gorgeously fluid prose that never snags on the period detail, Beaumont is a debut writer with a bold future.’ Jessica Fellowes, author of The Mitford Murders

Publisher Review

‘A dazzling period drama for fans of novels like Ian McEwan’s Atonement.’ The Lady ‘Heartrending and unputdownable… this is a rich, beautifully crafted tale… Utterly compelling’ Imogen Edwards-Jones, The Sunday Times bestselling author of The Witches of St. Petersburg ‘Heartbreaking… A beautiful evocation of grief’s impact on our ability to love and to trust.’ Lucy Jago, author of A Net for Small Fishes ‘A sparkling journey through the interwar years, and a heartbreaking and powerful climax… A wonderful novel, full of life.’ Lucy Ashe, author of Clara & Olivia ‘Tenderly drawn and poignant to its core – I needed to come up for breath before I plunged back in for this is a brilliant, immersive and compelling story.’ Mary Chamberlain, author of The Dressmaker of Dachau ‘Thanks to Vanessa Beaumont’s formidable skill in depicting a union gone to hell and the consequences of grief that only a mother can feel, The Other Side of Paradise is its own triumph.’ Air Mail