'You've disappointed me. You had all the potential in the world. You could have been so much.'
William Adair, patriarch, doting father of three girls, Men's Tennis Club Champion from 1967 to 1974, wakes up in his hospital bed and realizes that his family are less extraordinary than he had believed. For more than thirty years, his faith in life was grounded on two indisputable principles: his daughters' exceptional beauty and talents, and the historical resonance of a carriage house built by his grandfather. Now, both have begun to collapse.
William's daughters - the once promising actress Elizabeth, tennis ace Diana and breathtakingly beautiful Isabelle - having lost their father's pride, struggle to define themselves. And the carriage house has decayed beyond recognition and risks being condemned.
To help him recover, William's daughters take on the battle for the carriage house and, in doing so, each is forced to encounter the talented versions of themselves that they've lost. Overcoming misunderstandings, betrayals and wrong turns deep in the past, each of the Adairs ultimately finds a new place of forgiveness and love.
The Carriage House is a moving, beautifully written novel about family, expectations and rebuilding lost lives.
Louisa Hall writes about the wars waged between neighbours and family members with extraordinary sympathy and a keen sense of humour. Part Jane Austen, part John Cheever, this tale of upheaval in a suburban household marks the debut of a stunning new writerPhilipp Meyer, author of American Rust
