''Sweet Caress: The Many Lives of Amory Clay'' is a novel by William Boyd, published by Bloomsbury in 2015. A fictional autobiography supposedly written by a woman, Amory Clay, born in 1908, it includes extracts from her diary, written on a Hebridean island in 1977, with flashbacks from her career as a photographer in London, Scotland, France, Germany, the United States, Mexico and Vietnam. The book also includes more than 70 photographs, collected by Boyd, most of which are attributed to her. Boyd describes it as a "whole life novel" in that it tells the story of the book's main character "from cradle to grave", a technique he also employed in ''

The New Confessions ''The New Confessions'' is the fourth novel by the Scottish writer William Boyd published in 1987. The theme and narrative structure of the novel is modelled on Jean-Jacques Rousseau's '' Les Confessions'', the reading of which has a huge impact o ...

'' (1987) and ''

Any Human Heart ''Any Human Heart: The Intimate Journals of Logan Mountstuart'' is a 2002 novel by William Boyd, a British writer. It is written as a lifelong series of journals kept by the fictional character Mountstuart, a writer whose life (1906–1991) ...

'' (2002). The book is dedicated to Boyd's wife, Susan.

Plot

Amory Clay lives alone in a cottage on a Scottish island where, in 1977, she is writing a journal about her life and career. Born in 1908, she is the eldest of three children in a middle-class family in East Sussex. She excels academically at boarding school and was encouraged by her teacher to go to Somerville College, Oxford, but performs badly in her exams after her father, traumatised by his military experiences in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, tries to commit suicide and to kill her as well. Apprenticed to her uncle, Clay works as a society photographer in London but then seeks more excitement in Berlin, where she frequents the underworld and takes photographs that, when she exhibits them in

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

in London, are viewed as scandalous. An American magazine Global-Photo-Watch, offers her a job and she moves to

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. One of the best known of New York City's public parks, it is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. ...

in New York in 1932, where she has affairs with her American boss and with a French diplomat who is also a writer. Back in London, where she runs an office for the American magazine, she covers a 1935 demonstration by

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...

’s fascists in

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...

, in which she is attacked and badly injured. After spending the early part of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

as a fashion photographer in New York, she returns to Europe as a war photographer and accompanies Allied Forces as they sweep through France and Germany. She meets and marries a British officer, Sholto Farr in 1946, who is also a Scottish lord, and – unexpectedly, as she had thought the injuries she had received from Mosley's supporters had made her infertile – gives birth to twin daughters. Like her own father, her husband is haunted by memories of war. He drinks heavily, gambles, and loses much of the family fortune, before dying of a heart attack. Living in reduced circumstances, Amory returns to photography, seeks excitement as a

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

photographer, then travels to California to search for one of her daughters, who has joined a hippy colony and religious sect, and with whom she is eventually reconciled. Looking back on her life and career, and in increasingly poor health, the 69-year-old Amory contemplates taking her own life.

Publishing history and adaptations

''Sweet Caress'' was published by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom and the United States in hardback in 2015 and in paperback in 2016. It was published in Canada by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...

in 2015. A French language edition, ''Les vies multiples d’Amory Clay,'' translated by Isabelle Perrin, was published by

Éditions du Seuil Éditions du Seuil (), also known as ''Le Seuil'', is a French publishing house established in 1935 by Catholic intellectual Jean Plaquevent (1901–1965), and currently owned by La Martinière Groupe. It owes its name to this goal "The ''seuil' ...

in October 2015. A German language version, ''Die Fotografin: Die vielen Leben der Amory Clay'', was published in Berlin in 2016 by Belletristik, in a translation by Patricia Klobusiczky and Ulrike Thiesmeyer. An unabridged audiobook version, narrated by Jilly Bond and lasting 15 hours and 9 minutes, was released in the United Kingdom by Whole Story AudioBooks in September 2015 and in Australia by W F Howes in October 2015. An unabridged audiobook version, narrated by

Susan Lyons Susan Lyons (born 1958, Sydney) is an Australian actress. Her television appearances include: ''A Country Practice'', ''Police Rescue'', ''Murder Call'', ''Farscape'', '' Something in the Air'' and '' All Saints''. Her film appearances inclu ...

and lasting 15 hours and 44 minutes, was released in the United States by

Recorded Books Recorded Books is an audiobook imprint of RBMedia, a publishing company with operations in countries globally. Recorded Books was formerly an independent audiobook company before being purchased and re-organized under RBMedia, where it is now an ...

in September 2015. Abridged by Sara Davies and read by

Barbara Flynn Barbara Flynn (born Barbara Joy McMurray, 5 August 1948) is an English actress. She first came to prominence playing Freda Ashton in the ITV drama series '' A Family at War'' (1970–1972). She went on to play the milk woman in the BBC comedy ...

, ''Sweet Caress'' was serialised on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''

Book at Bedtime ''Book at Bedtime'' (''A Book at Bedtime'' until 9 July 1993) is a long-running radio programme that is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each weekday evening between 22.45 and 23.00. The programme presents readings of fiction, including modern classics, ...

'' in 2015.

Reception

Reviewing the book in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', Elizabeth Day said that it "blends history and fiction to fine effect... Amory’s fictional voice never wavers. She can be tricky, contradictory and impulsive, but this only serves to emphasise her realness. She emerges from this novel as a rounded, complex, infernally beguiling human being... oyddelights in blending artifice with naturalism – the text is punctuated by photos supposedly taken by Amory and by the occasional portrait, sufficiently blurred to remain just anonymous enough. Even the title of the book is taken from an invented quote lifted from a hypothetical novel written by one of the fictional characters. But the cleverness never overwhelms the narrative. Sweet Caress is an audacious, sweeping, rich layer cake of a novel, at once a textual hall of mirrors and a brilliant tale of a life well lived". "For William Boyd's war-photographer heroine, life is a series of accidents", according to Caroline Moore in her review of ''Sweet Caress'' for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

''. "Boyd’s representation of a certain sort of female voice is pitch-perfect" she said and " r those who appreciate a novel in which emotional life is sensed at the edges of what is said, this is a masterly portrait. And the final chapters, in which Amory tries, with typical courage, to take ultimate control of her life, and then finds further courage to recognise the limitations of control, are superbly written and desperately moving". Justin Cartwright, also for ''The Observer'', said that "Sweet Caress is a compendious and intelligent work, made authentic by Boyd’s extensive use of real dispatches and evocative photographs and his familiarity with makes of camera". Mary Hoffman, reviewing the book for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', described it as "an utterly compelling read and Boyd's best novel since Restless". She concluded: "The effect of Amory is that of an interesting woman with a life well-lived, who is not content to sit back and be beautiful as an adored wife or mistress. She grasps every opportunity with both hands, wherever it leads her. Not a bad epitaph, and a tribute to Boyd's skill that we miss her like a friend when we, and she, reach the end". Trish Halpin, editor-in-chief of '' Marie Claire'', described Boyd's novel as " veting – I’m sure this will be my book of the year". Geir Darge, for '' The Student'', called ''Sweet Caress'' "bold and enthralling, humorous and heart-breaking". He said: "The reader cannot help but live alongside Amory from the tragedies of her younger years to the pensive isolation of her later life. His latest novel is yet more proof that Boyd has a gift for creating a perfect novel". Madeleine Keane, reviewing the book in the '' Irish Independent'', said: "One of the great strengths of Sweet Caress is Amory – a complex character who, though not always likeable, is frequently admirable, not least in her desire to lead an interesting life". She recalled that "Boyd once said how he tried 'to make fiction seem so real you forget it's fiction'" and said that, in her view, "He mostly succeeds". She concluded: "Amory's gay uncle Greville invents a game (the early sections are pure Mitford), in which people are described in four adjectives. Sweet Caress is, like most of this writer's impressive body of work, vivid, poignant, compulsive and entertaining". Jon Michaud, writing in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', was more critical, saying that "for all its surface drama and intrigue, 'Sweet Caress' remains a resolutely bland book, and Amory Clay’s life story never amounts to more than a string of diverting anecdotes, like a series of stories polished over countless retellings at parties. Boyd’s decision to go for panoramic sweep rather than detailed close-up often results in an unsatisfying cursoriness... A running gag between Amory and her uncle is that everyone can be summed up in four adjectives. Applying that notion to 'Sweet Caress,' I’d say, breezy, overlong, superficial and disappointing".

Controversy

In the chapter on Amory Clay's experiences as a

war photographer ''War Photographer'' is a documentary by Christian Frei about the photographer James Nachtwey. As well as telling the story of an iconic man in the field of war photography, the film addresses the broader scope of ideas common to all those in ...

in the

, she meets British soldiers who are operating undercover as Australians. Boyd said in 2017 that although he believed that the Ministry of Defence still denied it, he thought that "it is pretty much established now that British forces were fighting in Vietnam, disguised in the late 60s early 70s".

References

External links

Official website

Boyd answers questions from Foyles about ''Sweet Caress''

Mudge, Alden: William Boyd, Photo op for the 20th century – BookPage interview, September 2015

William Boyd talks about writing and about ''Sweet Caress'' in Richard and Judy Book Club podcast, Summer 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweet Caress 2015 British novels Bloomsbury Publishing books Fictional diaries Fiction set in 1977 HarperCollins books Novels about photographers Novels by William Boyd (writer) Novels set during the Vietnam War Novels set during World War II Novels set in Berlin Novels set in California Novels set in London Novels set in Mexico Novels set in New York City Novels set in Paris Novels set in Scotland Novels set in Sussex