The Shooting Party
May 2009 · Catapult
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208
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About this ebook
A leisurely weekend among the British gentry reveals the cracks in their upper-class society in this “beautifully crafted” historical fiction novel set in pre-WWI England (Washington Post).
“A lovely piece of writing, in which subtlety, irony, and close observation abound.” —Larry McMurtry
It is the autumn of 1913. Sir Randolph Nettleby has assembled a brilliant array of guests at his Oxfordshire estate for the biggest hunt of the season. An army of gamekeepers, beaters, and servants has rehearsed the intricate age–old ritual, the gentlemen are falling into the prescribed mode of fellowship and sporting rivalry, the ladies intrigued by the latest gossip and fashion. Everything about this splendid weekend would seem a perfect consummation of the pleasures afforded the privileged in Edwardian England.
And yet it is not: the moral and social code of this group is not so secure as it appears. Competition beyond the bounds of sportsmanship, revulsion at the slaughter of the animals, anger at the inequities of class—these forces are about to rise up and engulf the assured social peace, a peace that can last only a brief while longer. In imagining Sir Randolph's shooting party, wrote The Spectator, Miss Colegate has found a perfect metaphor for the passing of a way of life.
“A lovely piece of writing, in which subtlety, irony, and close observation abound.” —Larry McMurtry
It is the autumn of 1913. Sir Randolph Nettleby has assembled a brilliant array of guests at his Oxfordshire estate for the biggest hunt of the season. An army of gamekeepers, beaters, and servants has rehearsed the intricate age–old ritual, the gentlemen are falling into the prescribed mode of fellowship and sporting rivalry, the ladies intrigued by the latest gossip and fashion. Everything about this splendid weekend would seem a perfect consummation of the pleasures afforded the privileged in Edwardian England.
And yet it is not: the moral and social code of this group is not so secure as it appears. Competition beyond the bounds of sportsmanship, revulsion at the slaughter of the animals, anger at the inequities of class—these forces are about to rise up and engulf the assured social peace, a peace that can last only a brief while longer. In imagining Sir Randolph's shooting party, wrote The Spectator, Miss Colegate has found a perfect metaphor for the passing of a way of life.
A leisurely weekend among the British gentry reveals the cracks in their upper-class society in this “beautifully crafted” historical fiction novel set in pre-WWI England (Washington Post).
“A lovely piece of writing, in which subtlety, irony, and close observation abound.” —Larry McMurtry
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About the author
ISABEL COLEGATE was the acclaimed author of many bestselling books, including The Orlando Trilogy, Statues in a Garden, and Winter Journey. The Shooting Party, first published in 1980, was an international bestseller and the winner of the W. H. Smith Literary Award for the British book of the year. It was made into a celebrated motion picture starring James Mason, Edward Fox, and John Gielgud. Colegate lived near Bath, England, and died in 2023.
ISABEL COLEGATE was the acclaimed author of many bestselling books, including The Orlando Trilogy, Statues in a Garden, and Winter Journey. The Shooting Party, first published in 1980, was an international bestseller and the winner of the W. H. Smith Literary Award for the British book of the yea...
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