Reading Group Guides
2 total works
Tom Seymour is a child psychiatrist who has worked in the north of England for many years. One day, while walking by the river near his house, he rescues a young man from drowning, and realizes that it's Danny Miller, a child murderer at whose trialhe once gave evidence. Evidence that he has since come to regard as deeply flawed...
Nick's grandfather Geordie lies dying. As Nick watches, Geordie starts to relive the horrors surrounding his brother's death in the painful days before his own. Meanwhile Nick and his wife Fran try to unite their increasingly fractious family by organizing the children into decorating the living room. Gradually, as the old wallpaper is peeled away an obscence portrait of an Edwardian family is revealed. The drawing is an exercise in hate, revealing the history of their house and casting a terrifying shadow over the family.