A Place Called Winter: Costa Shortlisted 2015

In the golden 1900s, Harry Cane, a shy, eligible gentleman of leisure is drawn from a life of quiet routine into courting and marrying Winnie, eldest daughter of the fatherless Wells clan, who are not quite as respectable as they would appear.

They settle by the sea and have a daughter and conventional marriage does not seem such a tumultuous change after all. When a chance encounter awakens scandalous desires never acknowledged until now, however, Harry is forced to forsake the land and people he loves for a harsh new life as a homesteader on the newly colonized Canadian prairies.

There, in a place called Winter, he will come to find a deep love within an alternative family, a love imperiled by war, madness and an evil man of undeniable magnetism.

Short-listed for Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2016
Short-listed for Costa Novel Award 2015

“A master storyteller. Quite simply, you believe every word he tells you-- Independent on Sunday”

Patrick Gale treats the love that dare not speak its name with insight and sensitivity... - Sydney Morning Herald

The book may be set in the past, but it has a contemporary story to tell. And while the focus is on a gay character, it's relevant to all. - Daily Telegraph, Sydney

From the powerful opening in a mental asylum until the story comes full circle, this novel will captivate with its extraordinary and layered content that was inspired by real events. - Good Reading Australia

What Gale does so well is to delineate the unpremeditated consequences of actions...The final chapter left me with a lump in my throat - Guardian

Late at night on the day a new Patrick Gale arrives I am always to be found crouching on the icy bathroom floor, banished from the bedroom for keeping my husband awake, feverishly turning the pages - Spectator

A master storyteller. Quite simply, you believe every word he tells you - Independent on Sunday

A writer with heart, soul, and a dark and naughty wit, one whose company you relish and trust - Observer

Patrick Gale was born on the Isle of Wight. He spent his infancy at Wandsworth Prison, which his father governed, then grew up in Winchester before going to Oxford University. He now lives on a farm near Land's End in Cornwall.

'Written in prose of beautiful lucidity...a tender tale of loss and love' Sunday Times Harry Cane has followed tradition at every step, until an illicit affair forces him to abandon the golden suburbs of Edwardian England and travel to the town of Winter in the newly colonised Canadian prairies. There, isolated in a beautiful but harsh landscape, Harry embarks on an extraordinary journey, not only of physical hardship, but also of acute self-discovery. 'Gale's confident, supple prose expresses the labour and hardship that toughen Harry's body as they calm his mind...Harry Cane is one of many, the disappeared who were not wanted by their families or their societies and whose stories were long shrouded with shame. This fascinating novel is their elegy' The Guardian 'Gale's novels are imbued with clear-eyed psychological truths navigating the emotional landscape of characters it is impossible not to care about deeply. Sensitive and compelling' Irish Times 'A mesmerising storyteller; this novel is written with intelligence and warmth' The Times Twitter @PNovelistGale FICTION 7.99 TINDER PRESS (logo) Ebook & Audio logo 9781472205315

In the golden 1900s, Harry Cane, a shy, eligible gentleman of leisure is drawn from a life of quiet routine into courting and marrying Winnie, eldest daughter of the fatherless Wells clan, who are not quite as respectable as they would appear. They settle by the sea and have a daughter and conventional marriage does not seem such a tumultuous change after all. When a chance encounter awakens scandalous desires never acknowledged until now, however, Harry is forced to forsake the land and people he loves for a harsh new life as a homesteader on the newly colonized Canadian prairies. There, in a place called Winter, he will come to find a deep love within an alternative family, a love imperiled by war, madness and an evil man of undeniable magnetism.

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