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Vendor
Liepman Literary Agency
Marc Koralnik
Original language
English

THE TYPEWRITER'S TALE

Michiel Heyns

Engaging UK debut in the tradition of Colm Tóibín's THE MASTER and Paula McLain's THE PARIS WIFE
THE TYPEWRITER'S TALE brings to life acclaimed writer Henry James, but the author is not the hero of the piece — the heroine is the wonderful fictional character of his typist, Frieda Wroth.

We discover society in the town of Rye around ‘the Master', as seen through the cool gaze of his typist, Frieda — a woman stirred by the suffragette movement and her own fledgling passions and ambitions. Admiring of the great author, she nevertheless feels under-valued, as his mere ‘typewriter'. But when the dashing Morton Fullerton comes to visit, Frieda finds herself at the centre of an intrigue every bit as engrossing as the novels she types every day, bringing her into conflict with the flamboyant Edith Wharton, and compromising her loyalty to her employer.

Caught in a complex triangle with urbane, long-winded James, suave, witty Morton Fullerton and voracious, larger-than life Edith Wharton, Frieda tries to obey the Master's dictum: ‘Live all you can; it's a mistake not to.' But living, she finds, exacts a price

Shortlisted for Commonwealth Prize Africa Region on its South African publication, this marks this acclaimed author's UK debut.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Professor Emeritus of English Literature, prize-winning novelist, translator and critic. All of his novels have been published in South Africa by Jonathan Ball. Freight will publish LOST GROUND in 2018.
Available products
Book

Published by SA: Jonathan Ball

Comments

'...a hugely refreshing South African novel... Heyns has a knack for building clear, expressive prose like a watchmaker fitting together the workings of a timepiece.'

St Martins Feb 2017

Jonathan Ball (2006)

'Heyns' first novel, The Children's Day, was impressive for its poignant lyricism; by contrast, his second novel, The Reluctant Passenger, was an acerbic romp. In The Typewriter's Tale he has fashioned an elegant combination of these apparently divergent styles.'

Éditions Philippe Rey (2012: La Dactylographe de Mr James)

Freight Books

Book of the Week (May 2016)