Publisher Description

Born in her father's coffee house in Change Alley, London, Sarah Battle is raised in a smoke-thick atmosphere of coffee and alcohol. Witnessing and suffering from the destruction of the Gordon Riots in 1780, she longs to escape her surroundings into a better life. Her first attempt is via marriage to a man who's not what she thinks he is. Her second sees her in the new, promising, democratic world of late 1790s Philadelphia where she experiences deep love and warm friendship. Meanwhile, not far from Battle's, lives Joseph Young, a highly talented, depressive engraver who picks up Lucy, a girl he finds collapsed in a doorway. Their fraught life, with its connection to an extreme, revolutionary group, contrasts with the joy of Sarah's brief stay in America. The two stories weave together and eventually merge in a final exhilarating and dangerous journey, during which Sarah's vision of both past and future reveals the direction of a new life. The Flight of Sarah Battle is set in the turbulent last decade of the 18th century in a London where riot constantly rumbles and Bartholomew Fair entertains, and Philadelphia, where new building, hope and a democracy not quite fully.

Author Biography

Alix Nathan was born in London and educated there and at York University where she read English and Music. She now lives in the Welsh Marches where she owns some ancient woodland. She has published many short stories and her debut collection His Last Fire was published by Parthian in 2014. She has recently completed another novel, Into the Depths.

Review

"This is the best kind of historical fiction: the past is freshly and energetically reimagined...[Alix Nathan] cuts against cliche, against the received version, against cosiness. She leaves her reader restless, curious, wanting more. She is an original, with a virtuoso touch." Hilary Mantel on His Last Fire "From free indirect discourse to wonderful imagery, Nathan lends her stories and creations a refreshing immediacy all too often lacking in historical works..." New Welsh Review on His Last Fire "Knotty and intricate little pieces that linger long after reading..." Wales Arts Review on His Last Fire

Long Description

Born in her fathers coffee house in Change Alley, London, Sarah Battle is raised in a febrile atmosphere of sedition and intrigue. After witnessing the destruction and chaos of the Gordon Riots, she longs to escape her surroundings for a better life but is trapped in a marriage to James Wintrige, a member of the Corresponding Society but also a government spy. She meets the radical thinker, printer and bookseller Thomas Cranch who offers her an escape to the New World. Sarah finds solace in her new love and the thriving, democratic world of Philadelphia. But fate may yet deliver her back to London. She has never secured a divorce from her husband and the Change Alley coffee house is still hers. The Flight of Sarah Battle is set in the turbulent last decade of the eighteenth century in a London where riot constantly rumbles and Bartholomew Fair entertains, and against the promises and excitement of Philadelphia, where new building, hope and a democracy not quite fully realised are shadowed by the terrible threat of fever and war.

Review Text

Born in her fathers coffee house in Change Alley, London, Sarah Battle is raised in an atmosphere of coffee, alcohol and intrigue. After witnessing the destruction and chaos of the Gordon Riots, she longs to escape her surroundings for a better life but is trapped in a marriage to James Wintrige, a member of the Corresponding Society but also a government spy. She meets the radical thinker, printer and bookseller Thomas Cranch who offers her an escape to the New World. Sarah finds solace in her new love and the thriving, democratic world of Philadelphia. But fate may yet deliver her back to London. She has never secured a divorce from her husband and the Change Alley coffee house is still hers. The Flight of Sarah Battle is set in the turbulent last decade of the eighteenth century in a London where riot constantly rumbles and Bartholomew Fair entertains, and against the promises and excitement of Philadelphia, where new building, hope and a democracy not quite fully realised are shadowed by the terrible threat of fever and war. "This is the best kind of historical fiction: the past is freshly and energetically reimagined...[Alix Nathan] cuts against cliche, against the received version, against cosiness. She leaves her reader restless, curious, wanting more. She is an original, with a virtuoso touch." Hilary Mantel "From free indirect discourse to wonderful imagery, Nathan lends her stories and creations a refreshing immediacy all too often lacking in historical works..." New Welsh Review "Knotty and intricate little pieces that linger long after reading..." Wales Arts Review

Review Quote

"From free indirect discourse to wonderful imagery, Nathan lends her stories and creations a refreshing immediacy all too often lacking in historical works… Nathan must be applauded on such a confident, learned and engaging debut collection." -New Welsh Review

Author Comments

Alix Nathan was born in London and educated there and at York University where she read English and Music. She now lives in the Welsh Marches where she owns some ancient woodland. She has published many short stories and her debut collection His Last Fire was published by Parthian in 2014. She has recently completed another novel, Into the Depths .

Details