The Stamp of Beauty

Praise for The Stamp of Beauty "At last we have the opportunity to jump head first into the warped, seductive and darkly humorous mind of Fionola Meredith." David Holmes

"Fionola Meredith creates a visceral story of mistaken love that manages to both disturb and entertain." David Park

"An uncommon, compelling debut." Tanya Ravenswater

A young married woman begins an intense affair with an older man as a way of escaping her manipulative mother. But she comes to realise that her lover is a mirror image of her mother - just as seductive, just as demanding, and ultimately just as dangerous.

Set in modern-day Ireland, this unsettling novel from Belfast journalist Fionola Meredith charts the course of an unlikely and deeply dysfunctional 'age-gap' relationship to its inevitable conclusion. Disturbing yet darkly humorous, forensic but somehow compassionate, this compelling debut unflinchingly reveals what lies at the heart of the male fear of intimacy, and the hidden impulses which can drive our most fatal attractions.

Fionola Meredith is a writer, broadcaster and commentator, based in Belfast. She is a long-established contributor to the Irish Times and to BBC Northern Ireland, and writes a weekly opinion column in the Belfast Telegraph.

The Stamp of Beauty is Fionola's debut novel. Aside from her media work, she enjoys messing about in boats, and is a member of East Belfast Yacht Club. She lives in Belfast with her husband, Robbie, and their Dalmatian dog, Ripley