OLIVIA FANE

GOD'S APOLOGY

The third novel by Olivia Fane, who won a Betty Trask award and an Arts Council Award for her first novel, Landing on Clouds

'A very distinctive novel.' Hilary Mantel ‘This extraordinary story is told very readably. There is a good spicing of satire and humour. Besides being a good tale, God’s Apology is something of an essay in natural theology.’ Tablet Patrick German has achieved all his life's ambitions: a lovely wife, a baby son and a prestigious job in publishing. So when, one day, he walks out on all he knows and loves, he is as perplexed as anyone. He runs away to become a primary school teacher in north Norfolk, where he is mesmerised by a ten year old girl in his class, Joanna, who has an otherworldly authority about her. Patrick comes to realise that the private, angst-ridden confession he set out to write is becoming something far more extraordinary: an eyewitness account of an angelic life on earth. Material: Finished copies Sales: Maia Press UK

THE GLORIOUS FLIGHT OF PERDITA TREE

Perdita Tree, the dangerously bored and irresistibly beautiful wife of Tory MP Nicholas Hodgekin, believes that all married women, and perhaps all women everywhere, should have a magic door through which they can walk into a different life – ‘utterly, utterly different, not necessarily better, just something other.’ So when she is kidnapped in Albania, she takes it in the spirit of one huge adventure. Adored by her kidnapper, Alfred, who believes all things English are perfect, she is persuaded to rescue the Albanians from their dire history, and is vain enough to imagine that she can. Together Alfred and Perdita ride across the country on horseback, singing Beatles songs and preaching freedom. The year is 1991, democracy is coming, but are the Albanians ready for it? And are the Albanians ready for Perdita? Is Nicholas diplomatic enough to smooth over this international incident? Will Perdita ever be persuaded to return to her children, her former life as a politician’s wife? And is Albanian peasant garb quite as magnifique as she claims?

A novel in which Alfred’s idealism finds expression through Perdita’s vanity, in which nothing is more seductive than a table, two chairs, and the prospect of interrogation, a pair of flared trousers can land you in prison, and the reader, understanding how freedom is so widely abused and misunderstood, asks, if it carries with it such a sense of responsibility, then how much of it do we really want?

THE GLORIOUS FLIGHT OF PERDITA TREE is a beguilingly simple story, which considers the nature of love, longing and betrayal, and, above all, the art of being free.

'This book is a delight........I loved it. It is an extremely serious novel, posing as one which is simple and beguiling.........it races along at a rate of knots, leaving the reader smiling, satisfied, and impressed.' Fay Weldon

'A captivating book - original, intelligent and very entertaining'. Isabel Woolf

Material: Finished copies

Sales: Maia Press UK

LANDING ON CLOUDS

“‘A relationship?’ said Robert. ‘I certainly wouldn’t want one of those.’”
So Robert Standing remains alone – among people but separate from them. His desire for the ‘perfect means of human communication’ leads him into trouble time and time again. From the day he takes a girl flying and convinces her they can land on a cloud, to his attempt to give a girlfriend the nature of his soul – in a pint of his own blood – Robert constantly strives to find the key to complete understanding. And as he strides through life he wreaks havoc in the lives of his wives, girlfriends and family in his unwavering search for truth. But will he ever find it – and does he deserve to?

At once an intriguing metaphysical exploration and a riotously good read about an artless man’s search for the right way to live.

'Disturbing, shrewd, funny – a most impressive debut.' Victoria Glendinning

'Olivia Fane’s vivid comedy of character succeeds in creating a monster of male narcissism and charm, uniquely dreadful, utterly convincing.' Marina Warner

'Fane’s debut is the most radiant and least fluffy I have seen this year.' A Craig, Independent

'She has a shrewd and none-too-kind wit that highlights human ridiculousness bringing to mind comparisons with Shena Mackay, and, in her hero’s philosophical quest with early Iris Murdoch. It is good that there are some new writers for whom the novel is in itself the ideal form rather than the road to a film script.' Claire Colvin, The Times

'Fane's book (winner of a Betty Trask award) takes the form of biographical research, tracking down the women who have loved [Robert Standing], as she pieces his life together. She handles her material with dexterity, creating a tantalising story that leaves readers free to choose how many layers they unpeel.' The Sunday Times

'…disturbing and amusing. An assured first novel.'The Guardian

'…less bizarre, and more moving, than the light touch of Fane’s writing might suggest.'Literary Review

'…funny, searching and stowed with surprises.'She

Material: Finished copies
Sales: Heinemann UK

All rights available.

OLIVIA FANE studied Classics at Cambridge, and worked as a probation officer before taking a degree in theology. Fane’s combination of intellectual ideas and clear, involving prose won her a Betty Trask Award for LANDING ON CLOUDS, and drew comparisons with Iris Murdoch. She lives with her husband and five sons in West Sussex.