An entertaining and charmingly poignant portrait of a provincial widower’s burgeoning new life following the death of his wife.
It’s 1964, and 57 year-old antiques dealer George has lost his wife after they’ve lived a contented sort of life for the past twenty-six years, but he still has his beloved Bassett hound Monty, along with a heart that aches with a readiness to be filled anew. Indeed, George brims with a swirling sense of new possibilities: “Life. It meant walks holding hands in meadows freckled with buttercups… It swept him across grand landscapes; it meant riding bareback over the plains.” As he gets on with his business, his wife’s friends - an ensemble of larger-than-life, amusingly evoked characters - rally around with pies, while George himself feels frisson after frisson of desire. He’s an endearing, generous-spirited character, a gent who radiates a cosy glow of affection, and readers will truly root for him as he lays his heart bare, sometimes feeling “as if he had strayed off the edge into the unknown, like in the old maps – the mysterious, foggy territory”. Flawlessly rounded off by a heart-lifting twist, this is a delightfully tender read. ~ Joanne Owen
How can you pack for the journey of a lifetime? George Baxter has settled for a comfortable life, content as the years unfold predictably - until Win, his wife of twenty-six years, dies. With his loyal dog Monty by his side, George throws himself into his work as an antiques dealer. His business is at the heart of the village and all sorts pass through the doors, each person in search of their own little piece of history. When George meets local widow Sylvia Newsome, he imagines a different kind of future. But life has more revelations to offer him. Over the course of an English summer George uncovers some unexpected mysteries from his past, which could shape his tomorrows ...
'George Baxter is one of those rare characters in a novel that you feel you've known all your life. Full of hilarious set pieces and moments of tender reflection, A New Map of Love sneaks up on you, the last page is as lovely as the first. I loved it.' -- Kit de Waal, author of Costa-shortlisted My Name is Leon
'A New Map of Love is an acute and beguiling study of life, love and the endless flat footed dance of men and women.' -- Sarah Dunant
'Poignant, funny and ultimately uplifting' Lancashire Post
Author
About Abi Oliver
Abi Oliver has spent much of her life in the Thames Valley. She studied at Oxford and London Universities, has worked for a charity, as a nurse, on Indian Railways and as a writer. She has also raised four children and lives in Purley-on-Thames. This is her first novel as Abi Oliver.
