Inheritance [Hardcover]

`It's an utterly absorbing and enjoyable novel, one so engaging that you find yourself willing it to end happily.' --Scotsman

`An interesting high concept and intriguingly worked out.'
--The Lady

`compelling - and consistently surprising'
--Sunday Times Culture

`Thoughtful and beautifully observed' --Economist

`this novel combines a remarkable narrative force with the lightest of touches. A book to savour and pass on.'
--Economist

What would you do if you suddenly inherited £17,000,000? An entertaining and poignant story of betrayal and redemption from one of our most-respected writers.

Andy Larkham is late. He is due at the funeral of his favourite school teacher, who once told him: ‘It’s hard work being anyone.’ It’s especially hard for Andy – stuck in a dead-end job, terminally short of cash and with a fiancée who is about to ditch him. When the funeral leads to unexpected consequences, Andy has to ask himself: how far will he go to change his life? From early-twentieth-century Turkey to modern day London, Nicholas Shakespeare takes us on an extraordinary journey that explores the temptations of unexpected wealth, the secrets of damaged families and the price of being true to oneself. At once a love story spanning many decades and a tragedy of betrayal and missed opportunities, it is a romance for our times.

Nicholas Shakespeare was born in 1957. The son of a diplomat, much of his youth was spent in the Far East and South America. His novels have been translated into twenty languages. They include The Vision of Elena Silves, winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, Snowleg and The Dancer Upstairs, which was chosen by the American Libraries Association in 1997 as the year’s best novel, and in 2001 was made into a film of the same name by John Malkovich. His most recent novel is Secrets of the Sea. He is married with two small boys and currently lives in Oxford.