The River Within

A poignant novel about infatuation, class, and obligation "Evocative and engrossing." “Hamlet comes to fifties Yorkshire in this compelling riff on love, grief and family strife. Powell is a talent to watch.” “Consistently elegant and absorbing, "The River Within" is a supremely accomplished first work.” “Utterly stunning, with prose that reads like a painting. It brims with heartbreaking moments of pain and betrayal and quiet joy. It recalls the best of Graham Swift and Thomas Hardy. Each sentence is so pristine and finely tuned that it took my breath away, and like its very own river, I felt helpless in its grip, pulled along to a heartbreaking conclusion. This book is unforgettable; it is a masterpiece.” “Beautifully attentive to both its Yorkshire setting and its Hamlet ur-text, and written in prose as alive and evocative as Millais'' painting of Ophelia, singing as the river and reeds claim her.” "A gripping mystery, revealing dark truths around class and love in the aftermath of war, with beautiful prose depicting Yorkshire and life on a country estate." “Powell shows hard-nosed empathy in portraying individuals’ private demons in the context of social realities. Her novel about love, class, and secrecy in 1950s England reads as if it were written in the era the characters inhabit, her style and tone reminiscent of an earlier generation of reticent yet emotionally brutal writers like Shirley Hazzard and Graham Greene. A mesmerizing escape.” - STARRED REVIEW -

“Powell has not written a pale imitation of “The Crown” or “Downton Abbey.” The River Within contains multitudes; it’s a fresh look at the pressures our caste systems place upon all of us, no matter where we come from.”

“It is a quietly assured, beautifully written and thought provoking novel, that deserves to be widely read and appreciated.” “This is a fine mystery as well as a fine story. People fond of well-written fiction will love this tale of class lines, young angst and our obligation to ourselves and to others.” “Beautiful and painful, Powell leaves us with a cast of characters whose lives can only be conjectured in the aftermath of two devastating world wars, the dismantling of England''s great country houses, and of a rapidly disappearing privileged way of life.” “It reads like a mid-century mystery written by Hardy or George Eliot – it’s really that good.”

How did Danny die?

On a summer’s day in 1955, the drowned body of young Danny Masters is discovered by three of his teenage friends: Alexander, heir to the country estate that neighbours the village, and siblings Lennie and Tom, whose father is land agent to the Richmond family. 

Lennie is in love with volatile Alexander, but is he also in love or merely playing with her? Alexander’s mother has been a widow for less than a year, yet her husband’s brother seems always to be by her side. In the weeks that follow the tragic drowning, the river begins to give up its secrets. As the circumstances surrounding Danny’s death emerge, relationships and bonds develop, and other stories gradually come to the surface, threatening to destroy an entire way of life.

• | Author: Karen Powell
• | Publisher: Europa Editions (UK) Ltd
• | Publication Date: Nov 11, 2021
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9781787703131
• | ISBN-10: 1787703134