A Change of Climate A Novel

Ralph and Anna Eldred are an exemplary couple, devoting themselves to doing good. Thirty years ago as missionaries in Africa, the worst that could happen did. Shattered by their encounter with inexplicable evil, they returned to England, never to speak of it again. But when Ralph falls into an affair, Anna finds no forgiveness in her heart, and thirty years of repressed rage and grief explode, destroying not only a marriage but also their love, their faith, and everything they thought they were. Hilary Mantelis the critically acclaimed author of eight novels, includingThe Giant,O'BrienandEight Months on Ghazzah Street, and a memoir,Giving Up the Ghost. A winner of the Hawthornden Prize, she reviews forThe New York TimesandThe New York Review of Books. She lives in England. An exemplary couple, Ralph and Anna Eldred have devoted their lives to doing good. Decades earlier, as missionaries in Africa, the newlywed and naiuml;ve couple blundered badly, suffering a nearly unimaginable horror. Shattered by their encounter with inexplicable evil, they returned to England, never to speak of it again. When Ralph falls into an affair, however, the past resurfaces, and Anna finds no forgiveness in her heart. Twenty years of repressed rage and grief explode, threatening to destroy not only a marriage but also their love, their faith, and everything they thought they were. "Ambitious and powerful . . . an extremely complex inquiry into the nature of good and evil . . . [a] wise, lyrical novel."San Francisco Chronicle "Witty, disturbing and memorable . . . smart, astringent, and marvelously upsetting."The New York Times Book Review "[A] complex story, probing deeper questions of good and evil . . . Mantel is an acute observer, fearless in exploring difficult subjects wherever they may lead her."The Washington Post Book World "A darkly humorous book . . . encapsulating the push and pull between emotion and repression, self-sacrifice and self-deception, pragmatism and confusion, goodness and evil."Los Angeles Times

Hilary Mantel is the critically acclaimed author of eight novels, including The Giant, O’Brien, and a memoir forthcoming from Henry Holt. Winner of the Hawthornden Prize, she reviews for The New York Times and The New York Review of Books. She lives in England.

"Ambitious and powerful. . .an extremely complex inquiry into the nature of good and evil. . .[a] wise, lyrical novel." --San Francisco Chronicle

"Witty, disturbing and memorable. . .smart, astringent, and marvelously upsetting." --The New York Times Book Review

"[A] complex story, probing deeper questions of good and evil. . ..Mantel is an acute observer, fearless in exploring difficult subjects wherever they may lead her." --The Washington Post Book World

"A darkly humorous book...encapsulating the push and pull between emotion and repression, self-sacrifice and self-deception, pragmatism and confusion, goodness and evil." --Los Angeles Times