Magnificent, moving new novel from Louis de Bernieres

The Dust That Falls From Dreams

Louis de Bernières

Harveill Secker - $38.00 - 516 pages

An epic story of love and war, and of England in the first half of the twentieth century, from the bestselling author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.

Against the backdrop of the Great War, Rosie must choose between two men who have loved her since they were childhood friends together.

In the brief golden years of King Edward VII’s reign, Rosie McCosh and her three very different sisters are growing up in an eccentric household in Kent, with their neighbours the Pitt boys on one side and the Pendennis boys on the other. But their days of childhood adventure are shadowed by the approach of war, which will engulf them on the cusp of adulthood.

When the boys end up scattered along the Western Front, Rosie faces the challenges of life for those left behind. Confused by her love for two young men – one an infantry soldier and one a flying ace – she has to navigate her way through extraordinary times. Can she and her sisters build new lives out of the opportunities and devastations that follow the Great War?

Louis de Bernières’ magnificent and moving novel (not an overstatement) follows the lives of an unforgettable cast of characters as they strike out to seek what happiness can be built from the ruins of the old world. 

I was captivated from the beginning, both by the wonderful writing and the fascinating story dealing as it does with the end of Queen Victoria's reign, the brief Edwardian monarchy, and then the ascension to the throne of George v. And central to the story the horrors of trench warfare and the impact of the war for those in London.

About the author

Louis de Bernières is the bestselling author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, which won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book in 1995. 

His most recent books are the novels Birds Without Wings and A Partisan’s Daughter, a collection of stories called Notwithstanding and a collection of poetry, Imagining Alexandria.

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin was an extraordinary hit, with 2.5 million copies sold. The Dust That Falls From Dreams will be Louis de Bernières’ first major novel in over a decade

 Louis de Bernières,(above left)-  credit Ivon Bartholomew