One of the great coming-of-age tales now with a new introduction by Alice Winn author of In
Memoriam ‘Decades have passed since I first discovered A Separate Peace but its impact
remains unforgettable. It' s a deeply moving coming-of-age story set against the backdrop
of war’ M.L. Stedman author of The Light Between Oceans In the uncertain early years of
the second world war two boys collide at a prestigious New England boarding school. Gene is a
lonely introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome taunting daredevil athlete. As they
spiral into a fraught intense friendship a shocking act of violence will banish the innocence
of these boys and their world forever. An American modern classic and perennial bestseller A
Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence and a
haunting treatise on the horrors of war. ‘A model of restraint deeply felt and beautifully
written’ Observer ‘Exceptional power and distinction’ The Times ‘A quietly vital and
cleanly written novel that moves page by page toward a most interesting target’ Truman Capote
‘A novel that made such a deep impression on me at sixteen that I can still conjure the
atmosphere in my fifties: of yearning infatuation mingled indistinguishably with envy and
remorse’ Lionel Shriver
