Books by Justin Cartwright

The Whitbread-shortlisted novel from the bestselling author of THE PROMISE OF HAPPINESS

"A gratifyingly unsound psychological odyssey . . . Cartwright destabilizes the novel's placid surface with aftershocks of historical tragedies." - The New York Times Book ReviewFrank McAllister has long since dropped "Retief" as his middle name, but the legacy of his family's history proves harder to shake. His ancestor Piet Retief, leader of the South African Great Trek, was killed by Zulu king Dingane in the 1838 massacre, along with a hundred men, women, and children. Afrikaner legend paints Retief as a homegrown Moses, bringing his people to the Promised Land. But Frank believes something rotten lies at the core of this family myth.Frank spends his days in his London home with his new partner and her son and the products of his wealth. But the return of his daughter, Lucinda, from rehab in California brings him intense guilt: having sided with him during his divorce from her mother, she crumbled under the weight of the bitter separation. Lucinda has brought home with her a mysterious boy, and they will join the family trip to Frank's beach house in South Africa--not far from the site of the 1838 massacre. In the lulls of their idyllic days, Frank unravels what really happened on that fateful day, and how it may connect to the violence of the apartheid years, and the violence encroaching on them even now.Up Against the Night is an enthralling tale of personal conflict and intrigue, set against the backdrop of South Africa's tangled past and troubled present, and told with tremendous color and insight. Absolutely original and gripping, it is destined to be as influential as JM Coetzee's Disgrace.

A novel about politics, film, history and, above all, love.

The new novel by the author of the Booker-shortlisted In Every Face I Meet and Richard & Judy selection The Promise of Happiness.

Charles Judd meanders round his local Cornish beach, contemplating the turns his life has taken. His wife Daphne struggles hopelessly with the latest fish recipe, trying to keep something in her life under control. Two of their children are keeping it all together - just.

Wonderful Booker Prize-shortlisted novel now reissued

David Cross is surrounded by secrets. When his wife Nancy was alive he kept secrets from her and now that she is dead, he must hide his new happiness from his children, Lucy and Ed. But they too have their troubles: Ed's marriage is in trouble, Lucy is being stalked by her ex-boyfriend, and both worry that their father will find a new partner.

A stunning new novel from the author of The Promise of Happiness

A journalist and film-maker investigates the disappearance of his father in Africa in 1959

'Cartwright makes his pages as vividly sensuous as they are caustically intelligent' The Sunday Times