A mysterious murder is committed aboard a luxury liner; suspicion of guilt spreads among the passengers; a gold watch is found ticking away inside the death-wound; the lives of those involved are changed by their closeness to a violent death, even after the apparent murderer has been discovered. 'The Glass Cottage' is an unusual mystery story that takes the reader into strange byways of emtion, and introduces them to many odd and memorable characters: the mad professor, the widow who talks with Goddess, the perverted ship's doctor, the poet interested in menstruation, the actor, the lover, the immensely freckled psychologist, the ship's spirit, the murdered girl and, not least, the great liner itself, the S.S. Messenger. The novel comes with a new introduction by co-author Penelope Shuttle. 'The Glass Cottage is full of marvellous writing, especially where concrete if esoteric experience is described.' The Listener 'Ablaze with fantastic, self-propogating ideas, strange dimensions, absurdities - a rewarding novel for all but the timidest readers.'(The Birmingham Post) Peter Redgrove (1932-2003) worked in several interlinked fields: as a poet, novelist, playwright, and in psychological practice. He believed creative, psychological and scientific work are aspects of the same common study, and his insights are profound, illuminating and constantly exciting. He received many awards during his life and was especially honoured by receiving the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1996. Penelope Shuttle has lived in Cornwall since 1970 and is the widow of Peter Redgrove. Her 'Selected Poems' appeared in 1998 and her collection 'A Leaf Out Of His Book' in 1999, both of which were Poetry Book Society Recommendations. A new collection, 'Redgrove's Wife', was recently published.
