Shortlisted for the inaugural Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction 2010.
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2009.
A fictionalised account of an asylum on the edge of Epping Forest where the poet John Clare spent some time. Tennyson visits the asylum adding that extra sense of reality but it is the story of the doctor Matthew Allen and his humane care for the patients in a time where such care was rare that makes this novel a pleasure to read.
Shortlisted for the Man Booker PrizeAfter a lifetime's struggle with alcohol, critical neglect and depression, in 1840 the nature poet John Clare is incarcerated. The asylum, in London's Epping Forest, is run on the reformist principles of occupational therapy. At the same time, the young Alfred Tennyson, moves nearby and became entangled in the life of the asylum. This historically accurate, intensely lyrical novel, describes the asylum's closed world and Nature's paradise outside the walls: Clare's dream of home, of redemption, of escape.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
Tell Us What Rosie Goodwin’s Books Mean to You and Win a Signed Book Bundle
Closing date: 31/10/2026
Shortlisted for the Man Booker PrizeAfter a lifetime's struggle with alcohol, critical neglect and depression, in 1840 the nature poet John Clare is incarcerated. The asylum, in London's Epping Forest, is run on the reformist principles of occupational therapy.
The Quickening Maze features in the following genres: Historical Fiction, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Book Club Recommendations, eBooks of the Month, Fiction, General Fiction, Recommendations
Paperback, Hardback. £15.29, down from the £16.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Quickening Maze was written by Adam Foulds and published by Vintage an imprint of Random House
The Quickening Maze has 258 pages
£15.29, reduced from £16.99. In Stock.
