The Stranger's Child [B0003]

2011 HCDJ. A National Book Critics Award finalist from the Man Booker Prize-winning author of The Line of Beauty and The Sparsholt Affair: a magnificent, century-spanning saga about a love triangle that spawns a myth, and a family mystery, across generations. In the summer of 1913, George Sawle brings his Cambridge schoolmate—a handsome, aristocratic young poet named Cecil Valance—to his family's home outside London. George is enthralled by Cecil, and soon his sister, Daphne, is equally besotted by him. That weekend, Cecil writes a poem that, after he is killed in the Great War and his reputation burnished, will become a touchstone for a generation, a work recited by every schoolchild in England. Over time, a tragic love story is spun, even as other secrets lie buried—until, decades later, an ambitious biographer threatens to unearth them. Rich with Hollinghurst's signature gifts—haunting sensuality, delicious wit and exquisite lyricism—The Stranger's Child is a masterly novel about the lingering power of desire, how the heart creates its own history, and how legends are made.

From Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Nothing really "happened" but the writing was so good that I didn't mind. I appreciate novels that describe thoughts and feelings in great detail, and it was a nice passage of time following some of the same characters throughout. Will try some other Hollinghurst novels also"; "A fascinating exploration of changing fashions in poetry and architecture and changing attitudes toward gay life in the UK, all tied up in the vicissitudes of memory and legacy."; "Exceptionally well written, quietly moving. The constant change in point of view characters is a bit hard to follow but really expands the narrative scope. Interesting example of a novel revolving around a character who only has a few lines of dialogue himself."