A Life Everlasting - Tapa dura

'I was taken with it from the opening page. Her eighteenth century seems totally convincing to me ... I found it fascinating to see how she built up a vision of a world beyond this which was both sinister and full of pathos, and I admire the indirection and subtlety of her writing. She has a beautiful and distinctive style, and I think I should read with pleasure anything she wrote.' -- Hilary Mantel 'Hearn's writing is characterful, witty and wise, and she does a great thing in making history seem tangible and dense, a sea in which all of time mixes.' -- Victoria Lane, Daily Telegraph 'Hearn keeps up an invigorating pace in an atmospheric slice of capital history reminiscent of Rose Tremain's Restoration.' -- Rachel Hore, Guardian 'Fascinating' -- The Tablet 'An atmospheric and beguiling novel...There are some splendidly impressionistic descriptions of historical events such as the Gordon Riots, during which Mallen behaves with such great heroism. The reader wrams to him both as a physician and a man...Full of wit and a sharp, wry humour...vivid and convincing' -- Historical novels review

It is London, 1785, and James Mallen, an eminent surgeon, is found dead on the banks of the Thames. As his restless ghost searches obsessively for the identity of his own murderer as well as for the spirit of his lover, Augusta, he begins to gather other ghosts around him - ghosts such as Queen Caroline, bewailing her ill-treatment by King George, and his maid, still keeping an eye out for him beyond the grave. Woven into the story of his afterlife is the parallel narrative of his life: of the rising science of medicine and of his rise through society, his marriage, and his passionate affair with Augusta, the charismatic wife of an MP, that leads to his ultimate downfall. Together both narratives give a vivid, atmospheric impression of the times and, with great imagination, playful humour and emotional subtlety, Miranda Hearn makes her ghosts as real and affecting as their earthly selves.