Jane Harris (writer) - Gillespie and I (2011)

Gillespie and I (2011)

Harris's second novel, Gillespie and I, was published to critical acclaim in the UK in January 2011. It is a chilling tale, largely set in the late 19th century, and involving anonymous letters, sleazy journalism and a notorious court case.

It would appear that I am to be the first to write a book on Gillespie. Who, if not me, was dealt that hand?

As she sits in her Bloomsbury home, with her two birds for company, elderly Harriet Baxter sets out to relate the story of her acquaintance, over four decades previously, with Ned Gillespie, a talented artist who never achieved the fame that she maintains he deserved.

Back in 1888, the young, art-loving Harriet arrives in Glasgow at the time of the International Exhibition. After a chance encounter, she befriends the Gillespie family and soon becomes a fixture in all of their lives. But when tragedy strikes – leading to a notorious criminal trial – the promise and certainties of this world all too rapidly disintegrate into mystery and deception.

Featuring a memorable cast of characters, infused with atmosphere and period detail, and shot through with wicked humour, Gillespie and I is a powerful and haunting second novel from one of today's most striking new voices.

Text taken from the hardback edition of Gillespie and I

Daisy Goodwin in the Sunday Times has described it as, "Like a Hitchcock film, every detail is there for a reason. . . It is rare to read a literary novel where the storytelling is as skilful as the writing is fine, but in Gillespie and I, Harris has pulled off the only too rare double whammy – a Booker-worthy novel that I want to read again."