Since 2015, he has been an editor at the London Review of Books, to which he contributes essays on politics, art, history and fiction. He has a PhD in nineteenth century British history from the University of Cambridge.

For all its historical fixtures, the novel is energized by timeless questions. Two Victorian marriages, two dangerous love affairs, one extraordinary partnership. TOM CREWE was born in Middlesbrough in 1989. The novel falters only in its later chapters, when John begins a self-destructive streak that is too flatly written to be believable. Crewe’s prose is stylish and precise, reminiscent of Alan Hollinghurst’s. (John’s betrayed wife is especially well drawn.) The novel’s plot is loosely based on the lives of two pioneering researchers on homosexuality: John Addington Symonds and Havelock Ellis. The New Life brims with intelligence and insight, impressed with all the texture (and fog) of fin de siècle London. Crewe, an editor at the London Review of Books, deftly captures the atmosphere when the law frightens us into lies, as John puts it. Crewe uses the interior depth of John and Henry to build intrigue, creating provocative developments even without the use of overtly dramatic plot points. He attentively constructs rich, human motivations and contradictions for his fictionalized renderings of John and Henry. in 19th-century British history from the University of Cambridge, makes no such error.

There is always a narrative risk when recapitulating events in historical fiction - predetermination can deaden the pulse. some of the best writing on desire I've read' Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain 'A beautifully written debut set in Victorian London. How far should they go to win personal freedoms? And how high a price are they willing to pay for a new way of living? Their daring book threatens to throw John and Henry, and all those around them, into danger. Meanwhile Henry is sure that his unconventional marriage will bring freedom.Ī shared vision for the future brings John and Henry together to write a revolutionary book in defiance of convention and the law. After a lifetime navigating his desires, John has found a man who returns his feelings. * Featured in The Observer 10 best new novelists for 2023 * 'Beautifully crafted' Sunday Times * 'Powerful ' Telegraph * 'Virtuoso' Guardian * 'Brims with intelligence and insight' New York Times * 'A very fine new writer' Kate Atkinson * In this powerful, visceral novel about love, sex, and the struggle for a better world, two men collaborate on a book in defense of homosexuality, then a crime.

Tom crewe the new life review