by Susan Hill
First published 1972
Harvey Lawson sits alone in his old age, remembering Francis Croft. Croft was the finest poet of his generation, but his brilliant mind came with a terrible cost. His days swung between creative fire and mental torment. Internal demons drove him to create extraordinary verse while simultaneously destroying his grip on reality. For twenty years, Harvey stood guard. He watched over Francis during his worst episodes, shielded him from a world that wanted to consume his genius, and tried to keep him safe from his own destructive impulses. But Harvey could not save Francis from himself. After Francis takes his own life, Harvey decides to tell their story once. He writes down the truth about their friendship, about what it meant to love someone whose gift came wrapped in such suffering. Then he burns every paper, every letter, every trace of Francis that remains. This is Harvey's final act of protection, his way of keeping the curious world from picking over the bones of a tortured artist.
Genres: literary-fiction, 20th-century, adult-fiction, biographical-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: tragic-hero, unreliable-narrator
Period: 20th-century
186 pages · Hardcover · Hamish Hamilton
Content warnings: mental-illness, suicide