Never Mind

In the deep south of France, Patrick Melrose has the run of his parents' house and magical garden, and the company of his vivid imagination. Yet his tyrannical father rules this world with considered cruelty, while his mother makes her escape into alcoholism. The life of the house is intense and unpredictable, and never more so than on this particular day. David and Eleanor are to host a dinner party, and the shocking events that precede the guests' arrival will shape the rest of Patrick's life.Never Mind is the first of the Melrose novels. Moving between heartbreak and devastating wit, it explores the damaging reach of parenthood and introduces an unforgettable cast of characters.

'St Aubyn’s prose has an easy charm that masks a ferocious, searching intellect. One of the finest writers of his generation.' -- The Times
'Humour, pathos, razor-sharp judgement, pain, joy and everything in between. The Melrose novels are a masterwork for the 21st century, by one of our greatest prose stylists.' -- Alice Sebold
'From the very first lines I was completely hooked ... By turns witty, moving and an intense social comedy, I wept at the end but wouldn’t dream of giving away the totally unexpected reason.' -- The Sunday Telegraph
'Clearly one of the major achievements of contemporary British fiction. Stingingly well-written and exhilaratingly funny.' -- The Evening Standard

Edward St Aubyn was born in London in 1960. His superbly acclaimed Melrose novels are Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope (previously published collectively as the Some Hope trilogy), Mother's Milk (shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2006) and At Last. He is also the author of the novels A Clue to the Exit and On the Edge. Alex Jennings is an English actor who gives an outstanding performance, playing the Duke of Windsor in the Netflix series, The Crown (2016). Jennings began his career in regional repertory theatre, playing a range of roles including Robespierre in The Scarlet Pimpernel and his performance as Glournov in Too Clever by Half, for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance in 1988. A three-time Olivier Award winner he is the only performer to have won Olivier awards in the drama, musical and comedy categories.

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