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A superb historical novel of Cornwall, class, desire and two world wars ''Engaging, compelling and unputdownable'' Sarah Winman Laura is a young laundress, and a fiercely independent single mother, struggling to bring up her adored son, Charles. Still mourning the loss of her husband just after the first world war, she vows to do everything for her child, and gradually becomes aware that he is a student - and writer - of huge talent. As a young adult, Charles briefly escapes the gossipy confines of his home town and signs up to be a coder in the navy. There, despite the violence of war, his finds a liberation he hadn''t foreseen as he travels the world, and realises aspects of his life will forever be clandestine as he relishes friendships - and love - of a new kind. MOTHER''S BOY is the tender, illuminating story of a well-loved poet, and a beautifully drawn evocation of the relationship between a mother and her son. ''A wonderfully tender account of a poet''s coming of age against the brutal backdrop of World War 11. Scene after scene is delivered with filmic intensity. Patrick Gale is a master of atmosphere, detail and the deep currents of latent passion'' Philip Marsden
