The Three of Us by Julia Blackburn

The Three of Us by Julia Blackburn

This is the story of three people: Julia Blackburn, her father Thomas and her mother Rosalie. Thomas was a poet and an alcoholic, who for many years was addicted to barbiturates, which would often make him violent. Rosalie, a painter, was sociable and flirtatious; she treated Julia as her sister, her confidante, and eventually as her deadly sexual rival. For after her parents were divorced, Julia's mother took in lodgers, always men, on the understanding that each should become her lover. When one of the lodgers started an affair with Julia, Rosalie was devastated; when he later committed suicide the relationship between mother and daughter was shattered irrevocably. Or so it seemed until the spring of 1999, when Rosalie, diagnosed with leukaemia, came to live with Julia for the last month of her life. At last the spell was broken, and they were able to talk with an ease they had never known before. When she was very near the end, Rosalie said to Julia, 'Now you will be able to write about me, won't you?' The Three of Us is a memoir like no other you have read.The writing is magical, and the story is extraordinary not only for its honesty but also for its humour and its lack of blame. Ultimately, this is a tale of redemption, a love story. It will surely become one of the classics of the genre.

Julia Blackburn has written five books of non-fiction, Charles Waterton, The Emperor's Last Island, Daisy Bates in the Desert, Old Man Goya and With Billie, and two novels, The Book of Colour and The Leper's Companions, both of which were shortlisted for the Orange Prize.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780224080606
ISBN 10	0224080601
Title	The Three of Us
Author	Julia Blackburn
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Vintage Publishing
Year published	2008-05-01
Number of pages	320
Prizes	Winner of PEN/Ackerley Prize 2009
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.