Kate Atkinson's new novel, Life After Life, will be published in hardback next March. Kate's publisher, Doubleday, described the title as posing "compelling and thought-provoking questions", including: "What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right?"
In 1910, Ursula Todd is born during a snowstorm in England, but two parallel scenarios occur - in one, she dies immediately. In the other, she lives to tell the tale. As the possibility of having a second chance at life opens up, the novel unfolds, following Ursula as she lives through the events of the twentieth century again and again.
Synopsis:
What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right?
During a snowstorm in England in 1910, a baby is born and dies before she can take her first breath.
During a snowstorm in England in 1910, the same baby is born and lives to tell the tale.
What if there were second chances? And third chances? In fact an infinite number of chances to live your life? Would you eventually be able to save the world from its own inevitable destiny? And would you even want to?
Life After Life follows Ursula Todd as she lives through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. With wit and compassion, Kate finds warmth even in life’s bleakest moments, and shows an extraordinary ability to evoke the past. Here she is at her most profound and inventive, in a novel that celebrates the best and worst of ourselves.
Kate Atkinson is delighted at becoming an MBE for producing a series of best-selling and critically acclaimed books. The award-winning novelist from York said the honour was a boost for the arts and a personal tribute to her efforts over more than 15 years as a published writer.
Speaking after the receiving the honour from the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace yesterday, she added: "I'm delighted and honoured and very surprised to get the MBE. It's a great tribute to the arts. I think it's a really nice thing for writers to get awards. If you look at who's here today, obviously people are getting awards for charity (work) which they should do, but there are very few people from20the arts. I'm not criticising, I'm just saying it's nice."
Kate had a very successful event on 15th July as part of the Harrogate Festival, with the sturdy Harrogate folk braving the rain to listen to her talk about her work, with particularly reference to her latest Jackson Brodie novel Started Early, Took My Dog, which Kate refers to her as her 'hymn to Yorkshire'.
Click on the images below to see larger versions. The middle photo is Kate's attempt at recreating the book jacket.
Started Early, Took My Dog was the Daily Telegraph’s Bookclub choice for July 2011.
The four-week promotion started on 2nd July with a profile interview with Kate and was followed by an online discussion and in-print commentary throughout the month.
Previous titles featured in the bookclub include, Paul Murray's Skippy Dies, Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question and Michael Faber's The Crimson Petal.
Find out more about the Daily Telegraph Bookclub.
A CD box set containing the first three audiobooks of Kate Atkinson's bestselling Jackson Brodie novels is now available. The abridged recordings comprise Case Histories, One Good Turn and When Will There Be Good News? across 15 CDs and are narrated by Jason Isaacs who plays Jackson in the BBC adaptation.
The first three Jackson Brodie titles are now available with fabulous new jacket artwork to coincide with the BBC television series.
Each jacket features a scene from the series, which stars Jason Isaacs as leading man Jackson Brodie.
To read more and purchase your copy, visit the Jackson Brodie section of this site.
Find out more about the Daily Telegraph Bookclub.
Read more about Started Early, Took My Dog.
Kate Atkinson
Photo: © Euan Myles
Kate Atkinson
Life After Life
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