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From acclaimed author Tim Pears, the first novel in a sweeping historical trilogy, beginning in rural, pre-WWI England.
Somerset, 1911. The forces of war are building across Europe, but this pocket of England, where the rhythms of lives are dictated by the seasons and the land, remains untouched. Albert Sercombe is a farmer on Lord Prideaux's estate and his eldest son, Sid, is underkeeper to the head gamekeeper. His son, Leo, a talented rider, grows up alongside the master's spirited daughter, Charlotte - a girl who shoots and rides, much to the surprise of the locals. In beautiful, pastoral writing, The Horseman tells the story of a family, a community, and the landscape they come from.
The Horseman is a return to the world invoked in Pears' first award-winning, extravagantly praised novel, In the Place of Fallen Leaves. It is the first book of a trilogy that will follow Leo away from the estate and into the First World War and beyond. Exquisitely, tenderly written, this is immersive, transporting historical fiction at its finest.
"Starred Review. Gorgeous, evocative language and characters who feel drawn from the earth itself make this unforgettable gem similar to Molly Gloss' The Hearts of Horses (2007) and to Wendell Berry's homespun, reflective Port William novels." - Booklist
"Though this book is the first in a trilogy, the plot seems short on both conflict and suspense until its rather abrupt conclusion. However, readers who enjoy pastoral settings and who share the author's penchant for exploring the minutiae of life in the past may be delighted by this novel." - Library Journal
"This leisurely curtain raiser, a gloriously devoted poem to England's past, springs to life in its final chapters." - Kirkus
This information about The Horseman 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.
Tim Pears was born in 1956, grew up in Devon, left school at sixteen, and had countless menial jobs before studying at the National Film and Television School. He is the author of eight novels, including In the Place of Fallen Leaves, which won the Hawthornden Prize and the Ruth Hadden Memorial Award; In a Land of Plenty, which was made into a BBC series; and Landed, which won the MJA Open Book Award in 2011. Pears lives in Oxford, England, with his wife and children.
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