John Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945. He is the author of eighteen novels, including The Book of Evidence; The Sea, which won the 2005 Man Booker Prize; the Quirke Series of crime novels, under the pen name Benjamin Black; and, most recently, the bestselling Snow, his first novel to feature Detective Inspector St John Strafford. Other major prizes he has won include the Franz Kafka Prize, the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Achievement in Irish Litera­ture and the Prince of Asturias Award. He lives in Dublin.

By the Same Author

nightspawn

birchwood

doctor copernicus

kepler

the newton letter

mefisto

the book of evidence

ghosts

athena

the untouchable

eclipse

shroud

the sea

the infinities

ancient light

the blue guitar

mrs osmond

snow

Copyright

Published in 2021
by Faber & Faber Ltd
Bloomsbury House,
74–77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA

This ebook edition first published in the UK in 2021

Cover design by Faber

Cover photography:
San Sebastian © Look and Learn / Bridgeman Images;
Silhouette of woman © Shutterstock

The right of John Banville to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly

ISBN 978–0–571–36361–2