Ghost Portrait - first UK edition

by Greg Norminton

GHOST PORTRAIT is a tersely beautiful book. By careful choice of moments it conveys the story of the life of a man. The painter Nathaniel Deller, who is at the end of his life, finds himself haunted by his past. He has lived through the English Civil war and the Restoration and these fragments of time are depicted in well-chosen snapshots. It is all that is needed; these astute, accurately described scenes convey so much. We learn about aspects of his character - things that he did, things that he didn't do - and how these built up, layer upon layer, to produce an elderly man, wracked more with the pain of memory than the physical ailments which have caused him to lose his sight. Suffused with desire and regret, this beautiful, understated novel is a moving meditation on change and compromise.

Book has dark-blue boards with the title in gold on the spine. Jacket is price-intact at 14.99£.