''The Beacon'', is a novel by English author Susan Hill, first published in 2008 by

Chatto and Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his business ...

and in paperback the following year by

Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Hous ...

Plot introduction

The four Prime children grow up in a bleak North Country farmhouse called 'The Beacon'; Colin and Berenice marry locally, May, the central character of the novel went to university in London but returns within a year. Only quiet, watchful Frank escapes to become a journalist on

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

. But then he publishes a successful novel about his childhood which throws the family into turmoil...

Reception

* Joanna Briscoe in '' The Guardian'' described it as a "novel of great structural and stylistic control" and as being "an almost perfect little literary novel outside any genre. A cross-generational family story barely longer than a novella, it possesses the light tug of menace and almost invisible haze of tension that characterise Hill's ghost stories, yet there is nothing supernatural about this tale of a farming family grounded in the seasons. The slippery nature of memory is what casts an atmosphere of unease over the novel". * Laura Thompson in '' The Telegraph'' writes "this short book is richly satisfying. Hill's craftsmanship is masterly. We are always aware of the farming backdrop: the book begins with a superb evocation of rural hardship, whose inexorable rhythms read like pared-down

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

." and goes on to describe it as "a little masterpiece". *'' The Times'' said it was "a moving, evocative and rewarding novel".

Radio Dramatisation

The novel was dramatised for BBC Radio 4's '' Woman's Hour Drama'', broadcast in five 15-minute episodes from March 22–26, 2010.

Publication history

*2008, UK, Chatto & Windus, , Pub date 02 Oct 2008, Hardback *2009, UK, Vintage Books, , Pub date 01 Oct 2009, Paperback www.fantasticfiction.co.uk
Retrieved 2012-11-19.

References

External links

Author webpage
review by Katy Guest in '' The Independent''
Terrors of the imagination
review by

Paul Binding Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

in '' The Spectator''
A twisted tale of malice aforethought
review by Nicholas Lezard in '' The Guardian''
Vintage books webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beacon Novels by Susan Hill Family saga novels 2008 British novels Chatto & Windus books