A SUNDAY TIMES MUST READ: 'A tender and vivid novel about a failing marriage set in the milieu of the Edwardian music hall'

Edith was born into a different world. But her rebellious nature brought her to the seedy glamour of the music hall, where she plays the piano by night.

Oliver is an illusionist. And he is a man of ambition. He wants to tour the world, to pioneer ground-breaking illusions.

History and fate have other ideas.

When Edith and Oliver meet they fall headlong in love. But their children arrive as the world begins to change, as cinemas crowd the high street and the draw of the music hall wanes.

What follows is a struggle: against the trials of marriage, against the march of time, and against Oliver's flaws - flaws that may cost them everything.

'A writer who is not afraid to address the so-called ordinary lives of real human beings' John Banville on Michèle Forbes