'Rachel Billington is a mistress of her craft... a convincing novel of passion' - New York Times Book Review
Set in the 1970s, Occasion of Sin tells Laura's story. Successfully married, a loving mother, a clever career woman and staunch Catholic, she imagined that her life was safely under control. But when what was supposed to be a simple trip to visit her brother in the country sends her life onto a rockier path, everything changes.
To her dismay, she falls passionately in love with Martin and her secure existence fragments into chaos, leaving her buffeted by elation, guilt and desire.
Laura finds herself forced to choose between her lover and her son - and the story of her painful struggle to reconcile her commitments to her faith, her family and herself makes a magnificent and unforgettable novel.
'Irony, tenderness and wit... a considerable imaginitive achievement' - Financial Times
'Perceptive and well-written...a sense of scenes that shift from London to New York to Italy, to Ireland, each as narrowly focussed and intense as the passion itself' - The Washington Post
'Brilliantly charted, set down with freshness, conviction and psychological truth' - Daily Telegraph
Rachel Billington has written twenty one novels and eleven books for children. She is also a journalist, feature writer and reviewer. She is a regular contributor and Associate Editor of Inside Time, the national newspaper for prisoners and a Vice-President of English PEN. In 2012 she was awarded an OBE for Services to Literature.
Genre: Romance
Set in the 1970s, Occasion of Sin tells Laura's story. Successfully married, a loving mother, a clever career woman and staunch Catholic, she imagined that her life was safely under control. But when what was supposed to be a simple trip to visit her brother in the country sends her life onto a rockier path, everything changes.
To her dismay, she falls passionately in love with Martin and her secure existence fragments into chaos, leaving her buffeted by elation, guilt and desire.
Laura finds herself forced to choose between her lover and her son - and the story of her painful struggle to reconcile her commitments to her faith, her family and herself makes a magnificent and unforgettable novel.
Praise for Occasion of Sin:
'Irony, tenderness and wit... a considerable imaginitive achievement' - Financial Times
'Perceptive and well-written...a sense of scenes that shift from London to New York to Italy, to Ireland, each as narrowly focussed and intense as the passion itself' - The Washington Post
'Brilliantly charted, set down with freshness, conviction and psychological truth' - Daily Telegraph
Rachel Billington has written twenty one novels and eleven books for children. She is also a journalist, feature writer and reviewer. She is a regular contributor and Associate Editor of Inside Time, the national newspaper for prisoners and a Vice-President of English PEN. In 2012 she was awarded an OBE for Services to Literature.
Genre: Romance
Used availability for Rachel Billington's Occasion of Sin