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On entering a London public lavatory in blithe pursuit of quick, anonymous sex, beautiful and roguish young aristocrat William Beckwith is confronted instead with an ancient, doddering member of the British House of Lords who, after muttering an incoherent string of polite non sequiturs, promptly keels over at his feet in embarrassed but undeniable coronary arrest. After saving the old man's life, Will is invited to tea by the grateful and slightly senile Lord Nantwich, who, surprised by Will's impressive lineage and appalled at his state of idle unemployment, engages the young man to write the Nantwich life story. Thus begins the unusual relationship that forms the core of this funny, sad and beautifully written novel. The Swimming Pool Library weaves a rich and fascinating tapestry of Britain's gay subculture spanning pre-World War I through the sexually abandoned early '80s, stopping short at the doorstep of AIDS. Hollinghurst's prose is brilliantly written, sexually candid and there are interweaving plots of race, class and a mystery to be revealed. It was hailed as the first major novel in Britain to put gay life in its modern place and context, and is now an undisputed gay classic, amd is now also in a Vintage Classic edition. He's also the author of the Man Booker prize-winning The Line of Beauty.
Paperback, 432 pages, Orig. Publ. 1998, This Ed. Publ. 2015
Author: Alan Hollinghurst