The Sea, the Sea

Charles Arrowby, a vain retired theatre director, buys a lonely house on a northern English coast to swim, cook, and write his memoirs in peace. An old love, Hartley, now married and living nearby, becomes an obsession; he tries to reclaim her and draws former actors, a guru-like cousin, and local watchers into the house. The sea is a daily presence, beautiful and dangerous. Jealousy, food rituals, and theatrical ego drive the plot. The novel is a first-person comedy of possession and self-regard, not a manual of seaside living.

Bound in blue cloth, cover blocked with an orange and white design by the artist. Dark blue slipcase.