Catherine Chidgey Books In Order

Novels

In a Fishbone Church (1998)
Golden Deeds (2000)
The Transformation (2003)
The Wish Child (2017)
The Beat of the Pendulum (2018)
Remote Sympathy (2021)

Novels Book Covers

Catherine Chidgey Books Overview

In a Fishbone Church

When Clifford Stilton dies, his son gene crams his carefully kept diaries into a hall cupboard. But Clifford’s words have too much life in them to be ignored, and start to permeate his family’s world. ‘In a Fishbone Church‘ tells the story of three generations of the Stilton family, woven together with brilliance and subtlety, spanning continents and decades. From the Berlin rave scene to the Canterbury duck season, from the rural 1950’s to the cosmopolitan present, five vivid lives cohere in a deeply affecting and exhilirating novel. ‘Catherine Chidgey is a wonderful new talent, and ‘In a Fisbone Church’ marks the beginning of what promises to be a glorious literary career’. Nick Hornby. ‘Warm, wit, descriptive delicacy and understated emotional intensity…
as subtle as a breath’. ‘Time Out’.

Golden Deeds

A mysterious letter writing campaign bears unexpected consequences in this gifted young writer’s intimate exploration of loss and discoveryEvery contact leaves a trace. But when Colette receives a letter from The Friends of Patrick Mercer about a man lying unconscious in a hospital on the other side of the world, she has no idea who the man might be. Why is she being written to?Hospitalized in England after a car accident, medievalist Patrick Mercer reconstructs his life through memory, dreams, and the inspiration of his treasured illuminated manuscripts. Half a world away, Colette is adjusting to new clas*ses, a new apartment, a new job and the mysterious ‘Patrick’ letters that keep arriving. Meanwhile, Ruth and Malcolm whose young son is Colette’s charge are desperately seeking to pick up the pieces of their lives after the terrifying disappearance of their teenage daughter. The Strength of the Sun is a novel about the human desire to make connections, to pick through our lives in search of what can be found among the daily losses. Compassionate, beautifully written, and compelling to the final page, The Strength of the Sun introduces a talented new writer to American readers.

The Transformation

Tampa, Florida, 1898: A hazy frontier where the Old World meets the New, where miracles of transformation are possible and the soil is so fertile that dry sticks take root and flower. Dominating the town is the magisterial new Tampa Bay Hotel and dominating the hotel is an exotic creature by the name of Monsieur Lucien Goulet III, wig maker to the wealthy and glamorous. As winter nears its end, Goulet is entranced by a head of hair belonging to the young widow Marion Unger. But this material, without which he absolutely cannot form his greatest masterpiece, is hard to come by, as it is still attached to its owner.