The Old Spring
Published on 7. July 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-906994-22-8 (ISBN)
Description
Dawn and Frank wake up one wet morning in the flat above their pub, the Old Spring. Today they have to meet the brewery representative, creepy Tim Green, and track down an error in their books - or face the consequences. Dawn has something else on her mind, too: the anniversary of an old tragedy for which she has always felt responsible.
Frank has a problem of his own - a secret that has ended his sex life with Dawn. Darren the cleaner, meanwhile, is haunted by the ghost of a long-dead landlord. The pub's 'chaplain', Father Thomas, tries to rediscover his faith under the sceptical scrutiny of his tormentor, Alan. And, in the local hospital, pub regular Romesh drifts towards death on his magic carpet, while back in the snug, the tattoed man faces up to a life and death crisis of his own.
Frank has a problem of his own - a secret that has ended his sex life with Dawn. Darren the cleaner, meanwhile, is haunted by the ghost of a long-dead landlord. The pub's 'chaplain', Father Thomas, tries to rediscover his faith under the sceptical scrutiny of his tormentor, Alan. And, in the local hospital, pub regular Romesh drifts towards death on his magic carpet, while back in the snug, the tattoed man faces up to a life and death crisis of his own.
Reviews / Votes
A wonderfully boozy evocation and celebration of pub life, full of all the sorts of characters you dread meeting in a public bar, but are glad you did * Gerard Woodward * Richard Francis' excellent novel The Old Spring . . . is about a pub - observed over the course of one long business day -- Tom Sutcliffe * Independent * This is wry, humane comic writing * Times * A love letter to the great British boozer, a place to plot and dream as well as to drink -- Adrian Turpin * Financial Times * Richly comic . . . There have been quite a few good novels set in pubs, The Old Spring is a worthy addition to that line -- William Palmer * Independent *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Profile Books Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
244 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-906994-22-8 (9781906994228)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Richard Francis
The Old Spring
Book
07/2010
Tindal Street Press
€34.87
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Richard Francis has published nine novels and three non-fiction books. He has written for TV and regularly broadcasts on BBC Radio. In 2010, Yale University Press published his fourth non-fiction title, Fruitlands: The Alcott Family and Their Search for Utopia.
In 1999, Richard became Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, where he is now an Honourary Research Fellow. He is married with two grown-up children, and lives, with his wife, in Bath and south-west France.
In 1999, Richard became Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, where he is now an Honourary Research Fellow. He is married with two grown-up children, and lives, with his wife, in Bath and south-west France.