Join us

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Newsletter

James Hamilton-Paterson

Rancid Pansies

Cover: Rancid Pansies - James Hamilton-Paterson

James Hamilton-Paterson

Rancid Pansies

2008, pp. 288, Paperback
ISBN: 9781933372624
Region: Britain
$ 15.95

The book

When we last saw our hero he had taken to his bed in England, his beloved home in Tuscany having inexplicably capsized into a ravine. As Rancid Pansies opens, Samper is recuperating in Sussex at the home of the famous conductor Max Christ when he learns that film rights to his book on Millie Cleat—the one-armed yachtswoman whose inadvertent hari-kari televised on Christmas day gave his book an enormous boost—have been sold. This windfall is sufficient to finance a return to Italy and provide the time to indulge a long suppressed aspiration: writing the libretto for an opera (if only he can find a suitable subject). Before departing, the ever-gracious Gerald insists on preparing a farewell dinner for Max, his family and friends. The meal of liver smoothies and field mouse vol-au-vent is a memory-maker—and the assembled company’s gag reflex is one of heroic proportions.

Back in Italy, Gerald discovers that an offhand remark he had made while surveying the wreckage of his house, claiming he and his friends were saved by an apparition of the late Princess of Wales, has found its way into the Italian newspapers. Now, religious pilgrims and curious tourists have erected an ad hoc shrine on what is left of his property. Annoying to be sure, but there is the kernel of a grand idea here. Opera requires romance and tragedy, right? And who more than the People’s Princess had such theatrics in super-sized quantities? And, if Princess Diana were to become Saint Diana, think of the promotional possibilities, the merchandising! So fasten your seat belts: it’s going to be a hilarious journey with some of the most appealing comic characters and sumptuous writing in recent literature.

The author

James Hamilton-Paterson
James Hamilton-Paterson is the author of several novels, including Loving Monsters and Gerontius, winner of the Whitbread Best First Novel Award in 1989, and Seven-Tenths, a collection of essays dedicated to the lost grandeur of the sea.

Press

From the same country

  • Cover: I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning - Keiran Goddard

    Keiran Goddard

    I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

    2024, pp. 208, $ 27.00
    Told from the alternating perspectives of five friends who grew up together on the same council estate, I See Buildings Fall like Lightning...
  • Cover: The Fair Folk - Su Bristow

    Su Bristow

    The Fair Folk

    2024, pp. 400, $ 18.00
    From prize-winning author Su Bristow comes a fascinating coming-of-age novel about magic and the choices that define future generations.
  • Cover: Bournville - Jonathan Coe

    Jonathan Coe

    Bournville

    2023, pp. 400, $ 28.00
    A tender and wickedly funny portrait of England told through four generations of one family.
  • Cover: Mr. Wilder and Me - Jonathan Coe

    Jonathan Coe

    Mr. Wilder and Me

    2023, pp. 256, $ 16.95
    A New York Times Editors’ Choice FROM THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE ROTTERS’ CLUB AND MIDDLE ENGLAND...
  • Cover: Hourglass - Keiran Goddard

    Keiran Goddard

    Hourglass

    2023, pp. 208, $ 25.00
    A short, lyrical debut novel about love, loss, work, time, and the unquenchable desire for connection with others—for fans of Jenny Offill, Mieko...
  • Cover: My Father’s House - Joseph O’Connor

    Joseph O’Connor

    My Father’s House

    2023, pp. 440, $ 27.00
    From the acclaimed, bestselling author of Star of the Sea and winner of the 2021 Irish Book Awards Book of the Year for Shadowplay, comes...

More suggestions

  • Cover: I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning - Keiran Goddard

    Keiran Goddard

    I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

    2024, pp. 208, $ 27.00
    Told from the alternating perspectives of five friends who grew up together on the same council estate, I See Buildings Fall like Lightning...
  • Cover: No One Dies Yet - Kobby Ben Ben

    Kobby Ben Ben

    No One Dies Yet

    2024, pp. 384, $ 18.00
    A genre-breaking novel from a powerful new African voice
  • Cover: The Fair Folk - Su Bristow

    Su Bristow

    The Fair Folk

    2024, pp. 400, $ 18.00
    From prize-winning author Su Bristow comes a fascinating coming-of-age novel about magic and the choices that define future generations.
  • Cover: The Other Profile - Irene Graziosi

    Irene Graziosi

    The Other Profile

    2024, pp. 224, $ 27.00
    A story of a conflicted friendship and its unraveling, told against the background of an ever-present, mind-twisting social media-verse
  • Cover: One Hour of Fervor - Muriel Barbery

    Muriel Barbery

    One Hour of Fervor

    2024, pp. 196, $ 26.00
    From the best-selling author of The Elegance of the Hedgehog comes a story of one man’s promise to keep a secret that will keep...
  • Cover: The Dolphin House - Audrey Schulman

    Audrey Schulman

    The Dolphin House

    2024, pp. 320, $ 17.95
    Based on the true story of the 1965 “dolphin house” experiment, this spellbinding novel captures the tenor of the social experiments of the 1960’s...

Join Our Newsletter and receive a FREE eBook!

Stay updated on Europa’s forthcoming releases, author tours and major news.

Are you a bookseller? Click here!

Are you a librarian? Click here!

X