Bad Relations

A rich, immersive novel about war, memory and loss, spanning three generations of one family

A rich, immersive novel about war, memory and loss, spanning three generations of one familyBAD RELATIONS tells the story of a family fractured by history, geography and desire. On the battlefields of the Crimea, William Gale cradles the still-warm body of his brother. William's experience of war is to bring about a change in him that will reverberate through his family over the next two centuries. In the 1970s, William's English descendants invite Stephen, a distant Australian cousin, to stay in their bohemian house in Cornwall - but their golden summer entanglements will end in a dramatic fall from grace. Half a century later, a confrontation between the surviving members of the family culminates in a terrible reckoning.Cressida Connolly's magnificent new novel is a tale of a tragedy that seeps through generations, and a family forced to confront what they truly value in life.

“A writer who seems able to peer directly into the human heart”

A ravishing novel from the great family saga-teller Cressida Connolly and an honourable tribute to the past The Times, Best Books for the Summer
Connolly's vivid characterisation, supple prose and striking imagery sweep you along, in an absorbing and affecting saga that uses one family's story to anatomise the different stages of grief Daily Telegraph
In recent British fiction I can think only of Tessa Hadley who rivals Connolly in exacting such intricate, compelling drama from close-knit families . . . I don't often wish a book were longer, but this one I did Observer
Masterful . . . a joy to see it garnering the ecstatic reviews it deserves -- Polly Samson, author of A Theatre for Dreamers
Moving [and] powerful . . . Connolly's vividly drawn characters grapple with trauma, unkindness and greed in an intriguing novel where past actions reverberate in the present Daily Mirror
Connolly, like Anne Tyler and Tessa Hadley, is a master of fluidly shifting perspectives, a sharply witty observer of social class, and a champion of imaginative empathy Daily Mail
Bad Relations is an amazing achievement and one of the most satisfying books you're likely to read this year The Times
Elegantly written, this subtle, satisfying, well-observed novel is a delight Country and Town House, Books of 2022

Another fascinating, moving story from the author of After the Party

Good Housekeeping
This clever novel set across three timelines tells the story of a family haunted by tragedy. A skilfully written, powerful drama BEST
The plot is neat, tight and unexpected but the novel's deep satisfaction comes from Connolly's total immersion in historical atmosphere and profound understanding of human pain Literary Review

A gripping story of love, loss and tragic betrayal

Country and Townhouse
What if you could write a novel whose main plot points are a death in combat, a suicide and the breakdown of family relations, and make it beautiful? What if you dared not to show the grimmest bits, but let them happen off-stage, while using elegant, beautiful prose to paint the spaces around them? Cressida Connolly is that brave writer and Bad Relations is her latest masterpiece . . . ravishing The Times
Haunting Observer
The characters in Bad Relations are so brilliantly real, so wonderfully compelling at their best, and at their worst, that I can't get them out of my head. A wonderful novel -- Nina Stibbe
-- John Preston
Uncanny, evocative, atmospheric Sunday Times on 'After the Party'
Connolly is a terrifically subtle writer... [she] slyly sweeps her readers into the period drama as tensions tauten between families and social classes Daily Telegraph on 'After the Party'
Profound and moving and completely original, with a storyline that is completely satisfying. It'll be one of those novels that stays in my mind forever... it's a work of art -- Craig Brown on 'After the Party'
I finished it in two days flat and I've never read anything quite like it -- Hilary Spurling on 'After the Party'
A wonderfully subtle and interesting account of the Mosley women, with a compelling voice -- Linda Grant on 'After the Party'
Fascinating, moving Good Housekeeping
A gripping story of love, loss and tragic betrayal Country & Townhouse
A compelling family saga Sunday Times

Cressida Connolly is a reviewer and journalist who has written for Vogue, the Telegraph, the Spectator, the Guardian and numerous other publications. Cressida is the author of four books- The Happiest Days, which won the MacMillan/PEN Award, The Rare and the Beautiful, My Former Heart and After the Party, which is currently shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and was a Waterstones Book of the Month. She lives in Worcestershire.

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