{"product_id":"9780008730765","title":"The Ruins","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Docton, Becky \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eModern \u0026amp; contemporary fiction (post c 1945)\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 13 August 2026 by HarperCollins Publishers (HQ) in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardback | 560 pages\u003cbr\u003e164 x 242 x 39 | 854g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Exquisite … gloriously Dickensian. The writing is breathtaking. Absolutely stunning' Veronica Henry\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e *Special Collector’s Edition available to the first UK print run only! Featuring a stunning foil on board design beneath the dust jacket – pre-order now. Available while stocks last*\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e ‘A sweeping story of self-discovery' Anita Frank\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e 'Spanning 1937 Devon to 1956 Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Docton's prose is elegant and exacting, beautifully cataloguing Lucie's moods and feelings as her fractured family history takes its toll' Daily Mail\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e 'A powerful new voice in fiction' Woman's Own\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Fall in love with the extraordinary debut perfect for fans of Alice Winn and Clare Chambers. Pre-order now!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  * * * * *\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDevon, 1937\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Lucie, just seven years old, newly arrived in England, watches blood drip from her mother’s hem as she crosses the footbridge to the train that will snatch her out of her life, the words, ‘Don’t leave me,’ captured in her throat.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Clifford glances at the small girl sitting beside him as they drive back to The Ruins, the ancestral home Lucie has never known. Once alive with weekend parties, croquet and swimming in the lake, ‘These days, nobody is happy here,’ Clifford tells Lucie.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Enid, in the vast, dark kitchen, clutches a cigarette and a sour drink, her violet eyes appraising the new arrival like a spider intent on a fly. She murmurs, ‘She’s got Kyte in her. Looks like Ruth.’ But this is not a compliment.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Ruth seethes with rage as she studies her own lovely face in the mirror of her cabin, aboard the ocean liner that will carry her and the husband who has betrayed her away from her daughter and back to Malaya. ‘Plenty of mothers do this,’ she tells herself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e As Lucie pieces together the story of her family and the mother who vanishes from her childhood, she will make unlikely friendships and discover the joy of imagination; and in the years that follow, will tread a precarious line taking her to unexpected places, both in herself and the rapidly changing world around her.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The Ruins is a glorious, sweeping debut about coming of age, forging identity and the search for home, spanning three decades and crossing continents, from a powerful new voice, Becky Docton.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  * * * * *\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Praise for The Ruins\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  'A glorious sweeping debut… this novel feels like a big bold adventure' Platinum\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e 'A richly woven book, written with the assurance of a seasoned storyteller'The Historical Novel Society\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e 'A sweeping debut' FABULOUS\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e 'Impressive. A poignant and propulsive tale' The Courier\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Guisborough Bookshop Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53447536640336,"sku":"9780008730765","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0860\/4988\/2448\/files\/9780008730765.jpg?v=1787659884","url":"https:\/\/guisboroughbookshop.co.uk\/products\/9780008730765","provider":"guisboroughbookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}