Patrick Gale was born on the Isle of Wight, moved to London as a child (where his father governed Wandsworth prison) and later relocated to Winchester. He earned an English degree from New College Oxford, graduating in 1983. He now lives on a farm near Land’s End. One of the UK’s best-loved novelists, his most recent works are A Perfectly Good Man, The Whole Day Through and the Richard and Judy bestseller Notes from an Exhibition. He chairs a literary festival, plays cello and has an intense passion for gardening, music and opera. He now lives on a barley farm in Cornwall where he raises beef cattle.

A Place Called Winter

A privileged elder son, and stammeringly shy, Harry Cane has followed convention at every step. Even the beginnings of an illicit, dangerous affair do little to shake the foundations of his muted existence–until the shock of discovery and the threat of arrest cost him everything. In this exquisite journey of self-discovery, loosely based on a real life family mystery, Patrick Gale has created an epic, intimate human drama, both brutal and breathtaking. It is a novel of secrets, sexuality and, ultimately, of great love.

Guardian review

Independent feature: “The challenge was to inhabit a homosexual life where there are no words to describe being gay.”