Salley Vicker's sensational debut novel, 'Miss Garnet's Angel' is a voyage of discovery; a novel about Venice but also the rich story of the explosive possibilities of change in all of us at any time.
Julia Garnet is a teacher. Just retired, she is left a legacy which she uses by leaving her orderly life and going to live - in winter - in an apartment in Venice. Its beauty, its secret corners and treasures, and its people overwhelm a lifetime of reserve and caution. Above all, she's touched by the all-prevalent spirit of the Angel, Raphael. The ancient tale of Tobias, who travels to Media unaware he is accompanied by the Archangel Raphael, unfolds alongside Julia Garnet's contemporary journey. The two stories interweave with parents and landladies, restorers and priests, American tourists and ancient travellers abounding. The result is an enormously satisfying journey of the spirit - and Julia Garnet is a character to treasure.
'Subtle, unexpected and haunting.' Penelope Fitzgerald
'Very kind, very funny.' John Bayley
'Rich, complex and haunting...she makes the ancient story as riveting as Miss Garnet's own adventures.' Sunday Times
'Reveals itself as a surprising exploration of the mysteries of imagination and faith.' Joanna Trollope, Daily Telegraph, Book of the Year
'A subtle, witty tale.' John de Falbe, Spectator
'When her longstanding companion and best friend dies, newly retired history teacher Julia Garnet goes against the habits of a lifetime and takes an extended trip to Venice. A Brookner-ish type of cardiganed heroine, she soon finds herself experiencing situations she could never even have dreamed of, including a romance and the theft of a valuable painting. Intercut with the story of her adventures is an imaginative reconstruction of the Apocryphal story of Tobias and the Angel, which has strange resonances for Julia Garnet. An unusual, poignant and atmospheric tale.' Kirkus UK
Author
About Salley Vickers
Salley Vickers is the author of the word-of-mouth bestseller Miss Garnet's Angel and several other bestselling novels including Mr Golightly's Holiday, The Other Side of You and Dancing Backwards as well as a collection of short stories Aphrodite's Hat. She has worked as a cleaner, a dancer, a university teacher of literature and a psychoanalyst. She is currently a RLF fellow at Newnham College Cambridge and she divides her time between Cambridge and London.
Her first name, Salley (about which she is often asked, and which can cause problems on computer searches for her books), is spelled with an ‘e’ because it is the Irish for ‘willow’ (from the Latin: salix, salicis) as in the W. B. Yeats poem, ‘Down by the salley gardens’.
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