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Insightful and full of understanding and warmth, Patrick Gale’s FRIENDLY FIRE is a richly compelling story of adolescence, sexuality and the lessons we carry forever.

‘An intense tale of love, life, intellectualism and passion. Inspirational’ Daily Express
‘Utterly compelling from first to last’ Stephen Fry

Sophie, an orphan in love with learning, is sure she will thrive in Tatham’s, an esteemed boarding school, having survived years of institutional living. But she soon finds herself lost among its cliques and rituals. Befriending two teenage boys, she experiences the first ache of futile love, then a brilliant teacher’s inappropriate attention to one of the trio threatens to destroy them all. Sophie swiftly realizes that there are tougher lessons to absorb outside the schoolroom – of class, sex, families and the emotional disaster they can bring to even the most privileged lives.

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Reviews

Utterly compelling from first to last
Stephen Fry
An intense tale of love, life, intellectualism and passion. Inspirational
Daily Express
Friendly Fire is another triumph for Gale. It is part of an oeuvre which looks ever more formidable
Independent
A classic tale of subversion
Sunday Times
Patrick Gale is a writer who has always seemed particularly well-attuned to the assorted agonies and ecstasies of childhood . . . the emotions ring true
Daily Mail