The Child's Child
The fourteenth Barbara Vine novel published by Viking in 2013
I felt that the treatment of these two strands (homosexuality and illegitimacy) was iniquitous. Both were very strongly present in society when I was young. Also, I had a cousin who was gay and who eventually died of an Aids-related illness in 1989. He was put through aversion therapy, which was pretty grim — this must have been in the 1970s, I think — and it was so horrible he ran away. Of course I knew he was gay — we were great friends as well as cousins.
When Grace and her brother Andrew inherit their grandmother’s house in Hampstead, they decide to move in together. It seems the obvious thing to do. They’ve always got on well, the house is large enough to split down the middle, and neither of them likes partying or loud music.
There’s one thing they’ve forgotten, though, what if one of them wants to bring a lover into the house? When Andrew’s partner James moves in, it alters the balance with almost fatal consequences.
Notes
Writing is quite demanding, very demanding if you try to do it as well as you can.
Interview with Lucy Clouting.Ruth Rendell talks about family betrayals in The Child’s Child.
A life in writing:
I’ve never met a murderer as far as I know. I would hate to. It’s just not necessary …
National Post interview:
I try to reflect the society I live in as it changes.
Contemporary Reads 2
Karin Fossum - The Drowned Boy
Louise Doughty - Apple Tree Yard
Parker Bilal - Dogstar Rising
Arnaldur Indriðason - The Shadow District
Robert Harris - An Officer and a Spy
Stuart Neville - Ratlines
Footnotes
Open and shut case: Is Ruth Rendell finally ready to open up about her puzzling personal life? Independent 2013. ↩︎
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