Elizabeth Garner – författare

The skies of Oxford are aflame with meteors the night Edgar Jones comes into the world–clearly this porter’s son, born in a small cottage in 1847, is no ordinary boy. While his mother is apprehensive about her restless, inquisitive child, Edgar’s father believes without a doubt that his son is destined for greatness. As the years pass, it becomes apparent that Edgar has a unique talent: He is a born inventor, and his gift for making is matched by a fierce will.Edgar turns his back on the scholarly life his father had intended for him and apprentices himself to a blacksmith. It is not long before his ingenuity and metalworking skills bring him to the attention of a maverick professor at Oxford University, a bone collector with plans for a museum of natural history. Finally, Edgar has the opportunity to showcase the singular gifts he’s learned in the hazardous soot and heat of the forge. But his great ability also becomes a curse, and his prominence is fraught with danger–both for him and for his family. Set at the dramatic midpoint of the nineteenth century, in a world on the cusp of change, The Ingenious Edgar Jones is an unforgettable coming-of-age story about the complexities of family life and the journey of one young man as he finds his place in a rapidly shifting world.From the Hardcover edition.

A couple fall in love at first sight - a magical encounter. They search for a home, and soon they are building a charmed life together on the fringes of Wimbledon Common. But when summer arrives, and with it, two gregarious neighbours, their haven is transformed. In the course of lazy days of sunshine and long, hedonistic nights, the boundaries between the two households blur, and the lovers' faith in each other is put to the test. Deep-seated tensions surface, which gradually give way to fears that echo through their days, and haunt their nights. NIGHTDANCING is an unforgettable portrayal of the transforming power of young love, and the darkness that can be born of an ordinary relationship.

Set in nineteenth-century Oxford, and shot through with a powerful sense of magic, Elizabeth Garner's new novel will appeal both to fans of historical fiction and to the huge Susanna Clarke/Philip Pullman fanbase. In nineteenth-century Oxford, an extraordinary child is born - Edgar Jones, a porter's son with a magical talent. Though his father cannot see beyond his academic slowness, his abilities as a metalworker and designer are quickly noticed, and become a source of tension within the family. When Edgar comes to the attention of a maverick professor at work on a museum of the natural sciences, Edgar is at once plucked from obscurity and plunged into the heart of a debate which threatens to tear apart the university. Edgar's position is a dangerous one - will he be able to control the rebellious spirit that fires his inventiveness, but threatens to ruin him, and to break up his family once and for all?

A couple fall in love at first sight - a magical encounter. They search for a home, and soon they are building a charmed life together on the fringes of Wimbledon Common. But when summer arrives, and with it, two gregarious neighbours, their haven is transformed. In the course of lazy days of sunshine and long, hedonistic nights, the boundaries between the two households blur, and the lovers'' faith in each other is put to the test. Deep-seated tensions surface, which gradually give way to fears that echo through their days, and haunt their nights. NIGHTDANCING is an unforgettable portrayal of the transforming power of young love, and the darkness that can be born of an ordinary relationship.