Fairlight Books lands ‘atmospheric’ historical novel by Clark

Oxford-based Fairlight Books has landed an “atmospheric” historical novel by Alan Robert Clark. 

Laura Shanahan, editor, acquired world rights, including audio, to The Redemption of Isobel Farrar from Peter Buckman at the Ampersand Agency. It will publish in June 2023.  

The Redemption of Isobel Farrar is set in 1920s England and deals with family ties and the redeeming power of love, while also exploring LGBTQ+ relationships in the early 20th century. 

The book’s synopsis reads: “England, 1926. Lady Isobel Farrar, an ageing widow with a colourful past, has returned home after years of living abroad. As she moves back into Halcyon Hill, her beloved country house, she finds herself dwelling on a long-buried secret. In the wake of a terrible tragedy when she was young, Isobel gave up a child for adoption, and now she can’t help but wonder what became of him. 

“Life has not been kind to Frank Brodie. Cruelly mistreated by his adoptive parents, he spent his young adulthood struggling to survive on the harsh streets of London, before the Great War took him away to the trenches. Now he has found safety with Arthur, an older man who loves and protects him. But something is still missing from Frank’s life. 

“When mother and son are finally reunited, will they be able to lay the past to rest?” 

Shanahan said: “I’m delighted that Fairlight will be publishing another historical novel by the inimitable Alan Robert Clark. The Redemption of Isobel Farrar is deeply moving, romantic and engrossing, and beautifully evokes the atmosphere of interwar England. Alan’s writing has a timeless, classic feel that sweeps you straight into the story – readers of Sebastian Faulks, Rose Tremain and Salley Vickers will love this novel.”