Beyond That, the Sea

'Deft, beautiful prose . . . As haunting as it is accomplished' Meg Wolitzer

As bombs fall over war-torn London, Beatrix’s parents make an impossible choice to send their eleven-year-old daughter to wait out the war with another family in America.

Swept up into the Gregorys’ affluent lifestyle, Bea soon adapts to life with Mr and Mrs G, and their sons William and Gerald. Distracted and entranced by new traditions, young love and summers on Maine’s coast, Bea’s old life feels like a distant memory. Until, abruptly, the war ends and she is summoned home to England.

In post-war London Bea tries to move on, but memories of her American family never fully let her go . . .

‘A timeless exploration of what it means to create a family, of how dreams can die and be reborn in surprising ways’ New York Times Book Review

‘A gorgeous novel filled with wonderful characters’ Ann Napolitano, bestselling author of Hello Beautiful

‘Gorgeous . . . I adored Laura Spence-Ash’s characters and deeply admired her precise, resonant prose’ Ann Packer, author of The Dive from Clausen's Pier

‘Beautiful . . . A story as rich and vital as life’ Claire Messud, bestselling author of The Emperor's Children