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Books

The problem when novelists write short stories

There's a risk you'll just be left with scraps, even by the wonderful Rose Tremain. That said, several of the short stories in The American Lover, mostly re-imaginings of other writers' work, are fantastic

8 November 2014

9:00 AM

8 November 2014

9:00 AM

The American Lover Rose Tremain

Chatto, pp.232, £15.99, ISBN: 9780701185220

Rose Tremain walks on water. Her historical novels are absolutely marvellous, brilliantly plotted, witty and wise, with some of the best characters you’ll find anywhere. Indeed one of their number has a good claim to being the natural heir to Falstaff, his bawdy antics giving way to a more melancholy conclusion: he is to be found in both Restoration and the eponymous Merivel.

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