‘Dark and brilliant.’ - SARAH MOSS ‘A masterpience.’ - DAISY JOHNSON ‘Extraordinary.’ - SARAH PERRY

In the bedroom above her immense studio at Burntcoat, the celebrated sculptor Edith Harkness is making her final preparations. The symptoms are well known: her life will draw to an end in the coming days.

Downstairs, the studio is a crucible glowing with memories and desire. It was here, when the first lockdown came, that she brought Halit. The lover she barely knew. A presence from another culture. A doorway into a new and feverish world.

‘Sarah Hall makes language shimmer and burn … One of the finest writers at work today.’ - DAMON GALGUT ‘Wonderful … The writing goes down smoking hot onto the page.’ - ANDREW MILLER ‘I can think of no other British writer whose talent so consistently thrills, surprises and staggers … With Burntcoat she has solidified her status as the literary shining light we lesser souls aspire to.’ - BENJAMIN MYERS