Mr Golightly’s Holiday

Mr Golightly’s Holiday
Salley Vickers

A novel from the best-selling author of ‘Miss Garnet's Angel’ and ‘Instances of the Number 3’.Holiday: a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation. Many years ago Mr Golightly wrote a work of dramatic fiction that grew to be an international bestseller. But his reputation is on the decline and he finds himself out of touch with the modern world.He decides to take a holiday and comes to the ancient village of Great Calne, hoping to use the opportunity to bring his great work up to date. But he soon finds that events take over his plans and that the themes he has written on are being strangely replicated in the lives of the villagers he is staying among.He meets Ellen Thomas, a reclusive artist, young Johnny Spence, an absconding schoolboy, and the tough-minded Paula who works at the local pub. As he comes to know his neighbours better, Mr Golightly begins to examine his attitude to love, and to ponder the terrible catastrophe of his son's death. And as the drama unfolds we begin to learn the true and extraordinary identity of Mr Golightly and how the nature of the secret sorrow that haunts him links him to his new friends.Mysterious, light of touch, witty and profound ‘Mr Golightly's Holiday’ confirms Salley Vickers's reputation as one of our most original and engaging novelists.

Mr Golightly’s Holiday

Salley Vickers

Copyright (#ulink_fb9b45d8-ee8b-56c2-aaba-2bdafc9557e3)

Fourth Estate

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/)

First published in Great Britain in 2003

Copyright © Salley Vickers 2003

The right of Salley Vickers to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780007156474

Ebook Edition © APRIL 2010 ISBN: 9780007379651

Version: 2017-07-26

For my own father, who, valiant in the face

of adversity, taught me the charm of the comic

perspective – with all love.

Take hold tightly, let go lightly; this is one of the great secrets of felicity in love…

ROBERT ORAGE

Table of Contents

Cover Page (#u52d7edcb-07c3-5dfa-911c-60805f6f341f)

Title Page (#u572f34cc-10f4-5054-a757-edba6c1d037d)

Copyright (#u30e0d37e-1c22-5c20-8a95-ad2c24c5c86a)

Dedication (#u7f0a1744-716d-5518-a32a-2c9ee044b1fb)

Epigraph (#ufc4a0b07-11da-57bd-b4ab-2d0f0cefaf69)

March (#ufc6f87e3-e409-512d-a767-9dddac79dab9)

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