2020 Walter Scott Prize for Best Historical Novel (nominee)
2019 Costa Book Award for Best Novel (nominee)
Discover the enthralling Richard & Judy Book Club pick from international bestseller Joseph O'Connor.
'The best novel that I've read in the last twenty years... It's fantastic' RICHARD MADELEY
'Breathtaking... A hugely entertaining book about the grand scope of friendship and love' Sadie Jones, Guardian
__________
London, 1878. Three extraordinary people begin their life together - and the idea for Dracula is born.
Fresh from life in Dublin, Bram Stoker - now manager of the Lyceum Theatre - is wrestling with dark demons in a new city, in a new marriage, and with his own literary aspirations. As he walks the streets at night, streets haunted by the Ripper and the gossip which swirls around his friend Oscar Wilde, he finds new inspiration. Soon, the eerie tale of Dracula begins to emerge.
But Henry Irving, volcanic leading man and impresario, is determined that nothing will get in the way of Bram's dedication to the Lyceum. And both men are growing ever more enchanted by the beauty and boldness of Ellen Terry, the most celebrated actress of her generation.
__________
Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2019
Winner of the Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year
'A colourful tale of secret love and public performance...in a romantic, lost London' The Times
'Hugely entertaining and atmospheric' DEBORAH MOGGACH
'Extraordinary' SEBASTIAN BARRY
'A novel I'd recommend to anyone: a rollicking and moving story' James Naughtie, Radio Times
'Fabulous... A truly great book you simply cannot put down' JUDY FINNIGAN
'Rich, sad, funny, and a beautiful read. You'll LOVE it' RICHARD MADELEY
'Ingenious...hugely impressive and utterly haunting' Sunday Mirror
Genre: Historical
'The best novel that I've read in the last twenty years... It's fantastic' RICHARD MADELEY
'Breathtaking... A hugely entertaining book about the grand scope of friendship and love' Sadie Jones, Guardian
__________
London, 1878. Three extraordinary people begin their life together - and the idea for Dracula is born.
Fresh from life in Dublin, Bram Stoker - now manager of the Lyceum Theatre - is wrestling with dark demons in a new city, in a new marriage, and with his own literary aspirations. As he walks the streets at night, streets haunted by the Ripper and the gossip which swirls around his friend Oscar Wilde, he finds new inspiration. Soon, the eerie tale of Dracula begins to emerge.
But Henry Irving, volcanic leading man and impresario, is determined that nothing will get in the way of Bram's dedication to the Lyceum. And both men are growing ever more enchanted by the beauty and boldness of Ellen Terry, the most celebrated actress of her generation.
__________
Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2019
Winner of the Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year
'A colourful tale of secret love and public performance...in a romantic, lost London' The Times
'Hugely entertaining and atmospheric' DEBORAH MOGGACH
'Extraordinary' SEBASTIAN BARRY
'A novel I'd recommend to anyone: a rollicking and moving story' James Naughtie, Radio Times
'Fabulous... A truly great book you simply cannot put down' JUDY FINNIGAN
'Rich, sad, funny, and a beautiful read. You'll LOVE it' RICHARD MADELEY
'Ingenious...hugely impressive and utterly haunting' Sunday Mirror
Genre: Historical
Praise for this book
"Joseph O’Connor is a very great artist and storyteller. The quotient of enjoyment in his extraordinary new novel is stupendous." - Sebastian Barry
"There are few living writers who can take us back in time so assuredly, with such sensual density, through such gorgeous sentences. Joseph O’Connor is a wonder, and Shadowplay is a triumph." - Peter Carey
"A hugely entertaining book about the grand scope of friendship and love, it is also, movingly – at times, astonishingly – a story of transience, loss and true loyalty." - Sadie Jones
"A hugely entertaining and atmospheric novel, one can almost smell the greasepaint." - Deborah Moggach
"There are few living writers who can take us back in time so assuredly, with such sensual density, through such gorgeous sentences. Joseph O’Connor is a wonder, and Shadowplay is a triumph." - Peter Carey
"A hugely entertaining book about the grand scope of friendship and love, it is also, movingly – at times, astonishingly – a story of transience, loss and true loyalty." - Sadie Jones
"A hugely entertaining and atmospheric novel, one can almost smell the greasepaint." - Deborah Moggach
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