The Great Lover: A Novel - Softcover

'This is an exceptional book even from the prize-winning Dawson -- clever, moving, sexy and with a mesmerising feel for that magical, optimistic, but doomed time just before the Great War' -- Daily Mail 'Nell and Brooke ponder the appearance of things, in search of hidden realities. Both are sensuous, passionate, sharp-witted and prone to introspection ... the story that emerges is strong, satisfying and memorable' -- Helen Dunmore, The Times 'Nell is a wonderful creation: resilient, intelligent and heart-breakingly innocent ... [Dawson]manages not only an impressive evocation of Brooke's milieu but a compelling reassessment of a poet often dismissed by modern readers ... most of all, her novel digs Brooke out of that corner of a foreign field that is forever cliche' -- Time Out 'Not only engaging and seductive, it is also clever, witty and artfully designed' -- Times Literary Supplement 'Jill Dawson has created a convincing world of huge pathos; a subtle, evocative anti-fairy-tale of doomed youth by one of Britain's most subtle and accomplished writers' -- Liz Jensen, Waterstone's Books Quarterly 'The Great Lover has many wonderful scenes ... But it is remarkable principally for its Rupert Brooke, glorious in all his agony and shame, particularly as he sees his sanity slipping away from him ... this novel shows a rare mastery of materials. Dawson has worked the imaginary character of Nell so seamlessly into the narrative of Brooke's life that Nell seems to belong there. It is difficult to see where the many direct quotations from letters and memoris end and Dawson's imagination begins.' -- Daily Telegraph