The most recent novel by Margaret Drabble, The Sea
Lady tells a story of first and last love, of evolution
and the ebb and flow of time that gives shape to our
lives. Humphrey and Ailsa meet as children by a grey,
northern sea. Humphrey is quiet, serious - and will in
time explore the sea's mysteries; Ailsa is angry, a
freckled cobra ready to strike. Yet they fascinate one
another and when they meet again years later they fall
briefly - and disastrously - in love. Half a lifetime
passes before Humphrey and Ailsa's paths finally
re-cross. What will each make of their past? And of the
future? ''The Sea Lady proves [Drabble] remains one of
the most thought-provoking and intellectually
challenging writers around''. (FT Magazine). ''A
pleasure to read ...utterly engrossing''. (Guardian).
''Drabble excels at describing the minute detail of
human behaviour ...The Sea Lady is a potent tribute to
lost dreams and harsh realities''. (Independent).
Margaret Drabble was born in 1939 in Sheffield,
Yorkshire, the daughter of barrister and novelist John
F. Drabble, and sister of novelist A.S. Byatt.She is the
author of eighteen novels and eight works of
non-fiction, including biographies of Arnold Bennett and
Angus Wilson. Her many novels include The Radiant Way
(1987), A Natural Curiosity (1989), The Gates of Ivory
(1991), The Peppered Moth (2000), The Seven Sisters
(2002) and The Red Queen (2004) all of which are
published by Penguin. In 1980, Margaret Drabble was made
a CBE and in 2008 she was made DBE. She is married to
the biographer Michael Holroyd, and lives in London and
Somerset. |
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