Imprint
- Sceptre
- Sceptre
Fiction, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
A riveting, subtle novel about an undetected crime and its corrosive legacy for the schoolboy culprits, by a highly praised young writer.
In the early 1990s, at an old-fashioned boarding school, two boys form an intense friendship that will shape the course of their lives. Bruno Jackson, the shy and lonely son of British expats, is infatuated by the glamorous but troubled Anthony Blunden. Taken under the wing of an idealistic English teacher, the boys are encouraged to explore the 'more serious things' of life beyond college. But in the hothouse of the school, a slight from their mentor seems of earth-shattering importance, with fateful consequences. Years later, with the memories of that time almost buried, Bruno leads a blameless, uneventful life. The sudden reappearance of Anthony forces him to revisit the dark corners of his past and to decide how far he's prepared to go to assuage his conscience.
From the acclaimed writer of GHOST PORTRAIT and THE SHIP OF FOOLS, this is a gripping tale of vengeance, morality and the complex paths that can lead to redemption.
More books by Gregory Norminton
Praise for Serious Things
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Subtle, clever and immensely enjoyable - Guardian
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Impeccably written . . . his scaling of the treacherous cliffs of the human heart will take your breath away - Sunday Telegraph
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Superbly written, with not a superfluous word, and enriched with wonderfully vivid images - Independent on Sunday
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A finely observed account of pubescent yearnings, which succeeds on every level - Daily Mail
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Not a whodunnit or a whydunnit but a reassessment of what happened in order to reach a resolution of forgotten guilt and mystery . . . intelligent and beautifully written - Literary Review
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Impeccably paced . . . Norminton is a talented writer: he depicts the climate of cowardice and loyalty that allows bullying to flourish, while sensitively rendering the beauty of the English landscape - Times Literary Supplement
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sharply realised - The Times
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A desolate story of men behaving unspeakably badly - Independent on SUnday
Gregory Norminton
Gregory Norminton was born in 1976. He studied at Oxford and trained as an actor. His first novel, THE SHIP OF FOOLS, was published by Sceptre in 2002 and was followed in 2004 by ARTS AND WONDERS, for which he won an Arts Council Writers Award, GHOST PORTRAIT in 2005 and SERIOUS THINGS in 2008.
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