From the author of the Costa Best Novel-shortlisted ‘The Elephant Keeper’, a poignant imagining of Thomas Hardy’s relationship with his last muse.A celebrated author, in the winter of his life, awaits a visit from a beautiful young actress – the leading lady in a staging of his most famous tragedy. But his wife is troubled. An anxious and sickly woman, she watches the growing intimacy between her husband and the young woman, and becomes tormented by the idea that they will betray her.In this delicately-wrought novel, Christopher Nicholson has been inspired by the true story of the first theatrical production of ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ to paint a subtle and moving portrait of life’s little ironies, its disappointments and its desires.