Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2008
352 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
A psychological thriller of passionate attachment and emotional cruelty, involving a love triangle between Lord Byron, his half-sister, and his wife.
To dissolve a dreadfully mistaken union between two formidable egos: surely it should only take "a quiet adjustment"? Inspired by the actual biography of Lord Byron—the greatest literary figure and most notorious sex symbol of his age—Benjamin Markovits reimagines Byron's marriage to the capable, intellectual, and tormented Annabella and the scandal that broke open their lives and riveted the world around them: Byron's incestuous relationship with his impetuous half-sister, Gus. Their very different understandings of love and obligation lead them all—and the reader—headlong to a devastating conclusion.
Acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic for his memorable prose and acute sense of character, Markovits here sets a new standard for the literary historical novel. A Quiet Adjustment is at once immersed in its period, an homage to Byron and his work, and a thoroughly modern fiction in the psychologically incisive vein of Ian McEwan and Colm Tóibín.
"The narrative somehow captures [Annabella's] mingled shyness and candour, and makes of its stylistic artifice something surprisingly natural. It is an achievement that is quite characteristic of this eloquently written novel." - The Guardian (UK).
"Markovits tells his tale with incredible style. His sentences are deliciously wordy and fun. Where many historical novelists struggle to approximate a pre-20th-century vernacular, 1820-speak comes naturally to Markovits." - The Times (UK).
"The complexities of Byron's life and character are perfectly suited to the canniness of Markovits's mind, and the skill of A Quiet Adjustment confirms his mastery of the genre. I await with anticipation what he does next?" - The Telegraph (UK).
"Markovits's delicate, painstaking, psychologically and socially acute examination of Byron's women can seem overwhelmed by its length and stylistic devotion." - Kirkus Reviews.
"Markovits plumbs the very depths of this passionate chill." - Publishers Weekly.
This information about A Quiet Adjustment was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Benjamin Markovits was born in 1973 in California, and grew up in Texas, London and Berlin. He is the author of six previous novels: The Syme Papers, Either Side of Winter, Imposture, A Quiet Adjustment, Playing Days and Childish Loves. He has published essays, stories, poetry and reviews on subjects ranging from the Romantics to American sports in the Guardian, Granta, The Paris Review and The New York Times, among other publications. He lives in London and teaches creative writing at Royal Holloway, University of London.
The Stone Home
by Crystal Hana Kim
A moving family drama and coming-of-age story revealing a dark corner of South Korean history.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
