About this ebook
'Beautifully observed' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
'Among the most perceptive and accomplished novelists writing today' P. D. JAMES
'Nina Bawden's powerful exploration of deception gradually unfolds a moving story about lies and truths, forgery and fidelity, love and loss' THE BOOKER PRIZE
Circles of Deceit is narrated by a painter who specialises as a copyist, this is his story: 'bothered by bills and artistic conscience in about equal measure . . . susceptible to, bullied and badgered by women.'
Major figures on the canvas are Clio, his child-bride; Helen, his first wife; and his mother Maisie. They confound lies and the truth in a subtle weave while the silent agony of the painter's son is a poignant reflection on the busy web of deception. And as the copyist transcribes his modern versions of Old Masters, the past keeps breaking through the surface of the present, until fact and fiction like art and life meet in a remarkable conclusion.
'Among the most perceptive and accomplished novelists writing today' P. D. JAMES
'Nina Bawden's powerful exploration of deception gradually unfolds a moving story about lies and truths, forgery and fidelity, love and loss' THE BOOKER PRIZE
Circles of Deceit is narrated by a painter who specialises as a copyist, this is his story: 'bothered by bills and artistic conscience in about equal measure . . . susceptible to, bullied and badgered by women.'
Major figures on the canvas are Clio, his child-bride; Helen, his first wife; and his mother Maisie. They confound lies and the truth in a subtle weave while the silent agony of the painter's son is a poignant reflection on the busy web of deception. And as the copyist transcribes his modern versions of Old Masters, the past keeps breaking through the surface of the present, until fact and fiction like art and life meet in a remarkable conclusion.
About the author
Nina Bawden (1925-2012), CBE, was one of Britain's most distinguished and best-loved novelists, both for adults and children (Peppermint Pig and Carrie's War being among her most famous books for young people). She has published over forty novels and an autobiography, In My Own Time. She was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Circles of Deceit and her novel Family Money was filmed by Channel 4, starring Claire Boom and June Whitfield. In 2004 she received the S. T. Dupont Golden Pen Award for a Lifetime's Contribution to Literature.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.