{"product_id":"the-daffodil-days-9781037203824","title":"The Daffodil Days","description":"\u003cp\u003eA mesmerising debut about two writers in a rural Devon town, seen through the eyes of the community around them\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Deeply researched and utterly convincing' \u003cb\u003eMelissa Harrison, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eGuardian\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Not a word is out of place. Full of understated lyricism ... an exquisite and spellbinding debut' \u003cb\u003eHeather Clark, author of \u003ci\u003eRed Comet \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Luminous ... Helen Bain's prose is exact and alive, and the novel builds with a quietly devastating inexorable force you can't look away from' \u003cb\u003ePaula McLain, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Paris Wife\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn the early 1960s, in a small town near Dartmoor, the church bells ring.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eThe people of North Tawton go about their days, catching glimpses of one another’s lives.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere’s the local GP, who knows more about his patients than he would sometimes prefer. There’s the young shop assistant at Kestrels, who understands that the ladies who come there for a new outfit sometimes hope to find a new self. There’s the tenant farm labourer who rings the tower bells at the church three times a week, the notes – harmonious and clashing – rippling out across the rooftops of the town.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmid all these lives, a young couple move into focus. New to the town with their small daughter, they have escaped London for a quieter existence in the thatched house beside the church, Court Green. The life they intend to build here – out of fresh lino tiles, second-hand furniture painted with hearts and flowers, and expertly-cooked suppers for weekend guests – will be a good and happy one.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Daffodil Days\u003c\/i\u003e depicts a pivotal year in the marriage of 20th-century literature’s most infamous couple, witnessed by the people they lived among. It is a kaleidoscopic portrait of this enigmatic pair, refracted through the rich inner lives of a rural community caught – if only for a moment – in their light.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781037203824\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eHelen Bain received her PhD in creative writing from King’s College London, and holds two MA degrees from Birkbeck University in creative writing and modern\/contemporary literature. She was chosen for the London Library Emerging Writers Programme 2020-21 and the Genesis Foundation Emerging Writers Programme 2022-23. She lives in Sussex. \u003ci\u003eThe Daffodil Days\u003c\/i\u003e is her first novel.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cb\u003eBeautiful, affecting and deeply impressive\u003c\/b\u003e, this is an\u003cb\u003e ingeniously constructed\u003c\/b\u003e novel, told slant. I loved it. * Louise Kennedy, author of TRESPASSES *\u003cbr\u003eAn exceptional novel, with shades of Hilary Mantel. \u003cb\u003eHelen Bain takes the familiar and makes it utterly new. I loved it.\u003c\/b\u003e I miss it * Meg Mason, author of SORROW AND BLISS *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA luminous, deeply researched debut\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Daffodil Days \u003c\/i\u003ereimagines Sylvia Plath's Court Green period through a chorus of village voices – letting the known story fall away until what remains feels \u003cb\u003ebracingly human and close.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eHelen Bain's prose is exact and alive\u003c\/b\u003e, and the novel builds with a \u003cb\u003equietly devastating\u003c\/b\u003e inexorable force you can't look away from * Paula McLain, author of THE PARIS WIFE *\u003cbr\u003eA\u003cb\u003e pointillistic, unsentimental, and intimate \u003c\/b\u003eportrait of Sylvia Plath through the eyes of those whose lives she brushed up against in rural Devon. Bain renders Plath’s humor, wit, resilience, and heartbreak from new angles, at once strange and familiar. \u003cb\u003eNot a word is out of place. Full of understated lyricism and a deep respect\u003c\/b\u003e for Plath and her world, \u003ci\u003eThe Daffodil Days\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ean exquisite and spellbinding debut\u003c\/b\u003e * Heather Clark, author of Red Comet *\u003cbr\u003eHelen Bain has produced something \u003cb\u003equietly miraculous\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003ci\u003e The Daffodil Days\u003c\/i\u003e brings the characters in a rural community to life in a way that evokes Andrew Miller’s \u003ci\u003eA Land in Winter ...\u003c\/i\u003e the depth of Bain’s meticulous, loving research is never obtrusive. It’s \u003cb\u003ea captivating debut: a compassionate, perceptive and truly wonderful book \u003c\/b\u003e * Miranda Seymour *\u003cbr\u003eYou would be forgiven for thinking that there was little left to say about their time in Devon that has not already been said; but by coming at its subject from the viewpoints of others, this \u003cb\u003evirtuoso, deeply researched and utterly convincing debut achieves something quite extraordinary\u003c\/b\u003e -- Melissa Harrison * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTold through shifting viewpoints\u003c\/b\u003e, this fictionalised account of the period leading up to Plath’s tragic death is \u003cb\u003eutterly compelling\u003c\/b\u003e * i paper *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eStunning\u003c\/b\u003e * Good Housekeeping *\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003ebeautifully achieved story\u003c\/b\u003e of daily and extraordinary life * Sainsbury's *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA love letter to Dartmoor,\u003c\/b\u003e and to the writer who lived there, Bain’s is \u003cb\u003ea smart debut that sheds new light on one of our most enigmatic creatives\u003c\/b\u003e * The Bookseller *\u003cbr\u003eBain’s style is both \u003cb\u003eold-fashioned and radical\u003c\/b\u003e …  A \u003cb\u003ecleverly quiet, unassuming\u003c\/b\u003e novel about two people who were anything but * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003eI adored this novel. It’s \u003cb\u003ebeautifully written, intricately plotted\u003c\/b\u003e, wears the precision of its research lightly, and is \u003cb\u003eexquisitely moving.\u003c\/b\u003e A very special book * Lucy Caldwell *\u003cbr\u003eBain brings Sylvia to life with extraordinary skill… it's exquisitely written * Country and Townhouse *","brand":"Helen Bain","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48544243319001,"sku":"9781037203824","price":32.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781037203824.jpg?v=1776452004","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/the-daffodil-days-9781037203824","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}