In a celebrated essay, Macaulay sums up Bacon's career as a "chequered spectacle of so much glory and so much shame." The words may fitly enough be applied not only to Bacon's life but to most men's lives and to most large experiments of human action. In 1942 I began to write a novel whose purpose was to trace the course of one such experiment from its beginnings in the eighties of last century up to our present time. I intended to call this novel, which would have been very long, So Much ...

In "Time and the Hour," Howard Spring intricately weaves a narrative that explores the profound themes of time, destiny, and the human condition within the backdrop of post-World War I England. The novel employs a rich, evocative prose style, characterized by Spring's meticulous attention to detail and deep psychological insight into his characters' lives. Set against a rapidly changing social landscape, the story examines how individual choices shape the course of one's life, particularly...

In "Fame is the Spur," Howard Spring crafts a sweeping narrative that examines the tumultuous rise and fall of an aspiring politician, exploring themes of ambition, fame, and the moral compromises often encountered on the path to success. The novel is structured in a highly engaging, almost episodic style, rich with character development and societal insights that reflect the shifting landscape of early 20th-century Britain. Spring's prose is both lyrical and incisive, deftly portraying th...

Rachel Rosing by Howard Spring is about the ambitious, beautiful, and calculating social climber Rachel Rosing, focusing on her pursuit of fame and fortune as an actress, depicting her ruthless ascent through marriage and career. But will this be met with eventual downfall? Can she lose everything, including her beauty, and be left with only an empty life?

“Shabby Tiger” by Howard Spring is about the gritty, bohemian life in 1930s Manchester, focusing on young, rebellious artist Nick Faunt and his unconventional relationships, particularly with the forthright Anna Fitzgerald, exploring themes of art, class, love, and survival amidst a colorful cast of characters like bookie Piggie White and social climber Rachel Rosing. It details their struggles to make ends meet, Nick's artistic ambitions, and the introduction of Rachel, a key figure in th...

''Winds of the Day'' by Howard Spring is a fictional autobiography of Alice Openshaw, an indomitable woman who rises from an impoverished, orphaned childhood in Manchester to navigate a changing, class-ridden society across both World Wars. It covers her life from the late Victorian era, focusing on her survival, work as a servant, and eventual finding of peace at a home in Cornwall. Alice Openshaw is a resilient red-haired orphan who starts as a servant and overcomes harsh experiences wit...

''Dunkerley's'' by Howard Spring is about the Dunkerley family, now wealthy from their successful penny journal Hard Facts, as their children come of age amidst family secrets, romance, ambition, and conflict in late 19th-century England, leading to drama and a violent climax, especially focusing on the new London magazine Dunkerley's and its brilliant but troubled editor, Alec Dillworth. It's the second book in the "Hard Facts" trilogy, exploring class, change, and the moral costs of succ...

These Lovers Fled Away (1955) by Howard Spring is an epic, intergenerational British family saga spanning from the Boer War to World War II. Narrated by Chad Boothroyd, the novel follows the complex, long-lasting romantic entanglements and social changes affecting a group of friends and their families, particularly focusing on his enduring love for the elusive Rose.

''Winds of the Day'' by Howard Spring is a fictional autobiography of Alice Openshaw, an indomitable woman who rises from an impoverished, orphaned childhood in Manchester to navigate a changing, class-ridden society across both World Wars. It covers her life from the late Victorian era, focusing on her survival, work as a servant, and eventual finding of peace at a home in Cornwall. Alice Openshaw is a resilient red-haired orphan who starts as a servant and overcomes harsh experiences wit...

“A Sunset Touch” by Howard Spring is about Roger Menheniot, a middle-aged, reclusive London bank clerk who dreams of escaping his dull life by buying a house in his ancestral Cornwall, a dream unexpectedly fulfilled after meeting a distant American cousin during WWII, leading him to discover love, lust, and complex local people as his life transforms from drab to passionate and complicated.

When he was a schoolboy George Ledra watched the recruits of World War I marching through the Manchester streets. His account of his own life; which makes this novel, concludes with the ending of the second war. This is a stretch of time that Howard Spring has often written about—a slice of his own days; and how people fared in the swiftly-changing political and social scene of those three decades fascinates him (and us).

When they buried the Old Warrior there was only one small wreath to go on the coffin... John Hamer Shawcross never forgot that moment.Hamer Shawcross is born into a poor but aspirational working-class family in Manchester. Studious and hard-working, he becomes a socialist activist, goes into politics and rises to becomes part of the privileged upper classes he began by opposing. Hamer's trajectory is mirrored by the rise of the Labour movement in Britain from the mid-19th ...