{"product_id":"the-slaves-of-solitude-isbn-9781590172209","title":"The Slaves of Solitude","description":"\u003cb\u003e“Gritty, real, tough, and sardonic.” —Nick Hornby, author of \u003ci\u003eFunny Girl\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e“Fabulously poignant.” —Sarah Waters, author of \u003ci\u003eFingersmith\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eAs World War II drags on, the lonely Miss Roach flees London for the dull but ostensible safety of a suburban boarding house in this “pitch-perfect comedy” about “the passions and tensions of war” (\u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e England in the middle of World War II, a war that seems fated to go on forever, a war that has become a way of life. Heroic resistance is old hat. Everything is in short supply, and tempers are even shorter. Overwhelmed by the terrors and rigors of the Blitz, middle-aged Miss Roach has retreated to the relative safety and stupefying boredom of the suburban town of Thames Lockdon, where she rents a room in a boarding house run by Mrs. Payne.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e There the savvy, sensible, decent, but all-too-meek Miss Roach endures the dinner-table interrogations of Mr. Thwaites and seeks to relieve her solitude by going out drinking and necking with a wayward American lieutenant. Life is almost bearable until Vicki Kugelmann, a seeming friend, moves into the adjacent room. That’s when Miss Roach’s troubles really begin.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Recounting an epic battle of wills in the claustrophobic confines of the boarding house, Patrick Hamilton’s \u003ci\u003eThe Slaves of Solitude\u003c\/i\u003e, with a delightfully improbable heroine, is one of the finest and funniest books ever written about the trials of a lonely heart.\u003ci\u003e“Slaves of Solitude \u003c\/i\u003eseems to me a masterpiece and certainly one of the best novels to come out of the Second World War.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—David Lodge, for \u003ci\u003eThe Times Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“\u003c\/i\u003ePatrick Hamilton is the great forgotten man of 1930s and 1940s fiction.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003eTime Out London\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“\u003c\/i\u003eOne of Hamilton's finest novels...\u003ci\u003eThe Slaves of Solitude\u003c\/i\u003e is a pitch-perfect comedy, in which all the passions and tensions of war are enacted in a seedy boarding house in Henley-on-Thames.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“\u003c\/i\u003eI enjoyed every page of this novel, and have never had the pleasure of seeing the panoply of loneliness and depression employed to such brilliant comic effect.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Katherine Powers,\u003ci\u003e The Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The author sketches the everyday with a deft, often comedic touch, yet never loses sight of the ultimate pathos of the human condition.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“\u003c\/i\u003eA welcome opportunity for contemporary readers to discover [Patrick Hamilton]...The author sketches the everyday with a deft, often comedic touch, yet never loses sight of the ultimate pathos of the human condition.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Gritty, real, tough, and sardonic.... If you were looking to fly from Dickens to Martin Amis with just one overnight stop, then Hamilton is your man.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Nick Hornby\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“\u003c\/i\u003eMy favourites are the novels which capture the gloom, grubbiness and paranoia of Forties London life—for example...Patrick Hamilton’s fabulously poignant \u003ci\u003eThe Slaves of Solitude\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHangover Square\u003c\/i\u003e.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Sarah Waters\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Patrick Hamilton is being revived again. And it looks serious this time… JB Priestley was an early supporter. Hamilton's book \u003ci\u003eThe West Pier\u003c\/i\u003e was generously described by Graham Greene as \"the best novel ever written about Brighton\". He was John Betjeman's favourite contemporary novelist. Writers from Julie Burchill to Doris Lessing are warm admirers. Biographer Michael Holroyd has written numerous essays and introductions. Nick Hornby recently described him as 'my new best friend'.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ePatrick Hamilton\u003c\/b\u003e (1904—1962) was born into a literary family and became active in the theater at a young age. He was a prolific writer, both of fiction and for the stage, and a notorious alcoholic. Among his most famous novels are \u003ci\u003eHangover Square\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTwenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky\u003c\/i\u003e (forthcoming from NYRB Classics).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDavid Lodge \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of several novels, including \u003ci\u003eAuthor, Author\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eChanging Places\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSmall World\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNice Work\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eParadise News\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eTherapy\u003c\/i\u003e.  He has also written many works of literary criticism, including \u003ci\u003eThe Art of Fiction \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eConsciousness and the Novel: Connected Essays\u003c\/i\u003e.  He lives in Birmingham, England.","brand":"NYRB Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300565143781,"sku":"NP9781590172209","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781590172209.jpg?v=1767741544","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-slaves-of-solitude-isbn-9781590172209","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}