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Jill Dawson
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The Great Lover: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Jill Dawson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 66 ratings
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“A brilliant, complicated man is the centre of Jill Dawson’s The Great Lover, and while she draws extensively on historical records of Brooke and his contemporaries, it is her decisions as a novelist that make this account of his life fascinating as well as faithful. . . . . The story that emerges is strong, satisfying, and memorable.” — The Times (London)

An imaginative, fascinating novel about one of the most enduringly popular and romantic figures of the First World War—the radical, handsome young poet Rupert Brooke.

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  1. Print length
    374 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    HarperCollins e-books
  4. Publication date
    May 14, 2010
  5. File size
    2.9 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dawson (Trick of Light) adroitly weaves together fact and fiction in this artful account of British poet Rupert Brooke's mental breakdown in the years before WWI. Boyishly handsome, Brooke arrives in Grantchester, England, and quickly begins a series of tangled romances. He woos a reserved schoolgirl, loses his virginity to a male friend, and flirts shamelessly with numerous women. Observing these ill-advised exploits is a no-nonsense housemaid, Nell Golightly, who, recently orphaned, thinks of herself as immune to love. Then one fateful evening she comes across Brooke naked, on his way for a night swim. Their subsequent relationship is complicated by class and Brooke's bisexuality. For Nell, the relationship poignantly marks the boundary between childhood and adulthood, while for Brooke, Nell provides a counterpoint to his other sexually confusing relationships. Finally, insecure about his poetry, grappling with his brother's death, and shattered by his failed affairs, Brooke begins to come undone, eventually finding solace with a Tahitian woman. Burrowing deep inside Brooke's mind, Nell is a capable narrator, and the result is a believable, sensitive portrayal of a great lover's search for love. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Back Cover

In 1909, sixteen-year-old Nell Golightly is a housemaid at a popular tea garden near Cambridge University, and Rupert Brooke, a new tenant, is already causing a stir with his boyish good looks and habit of swimming naked in nearby Byron's Pool. Despite her good sense, Nell seems to be falling under the radical young poet's spell, even though Brooke apparently adores no one but himself. Could he ever love a housemaid? Is he, in fact, capable of love at all?

Jill Dawson's The Great Lover imaginatively and playfully gives new voice to Rupert Brooke through the poet's own words and through the remembrances of the spirited Nell. An extraordinary novel, it powerfully conveys the allure of charisma as it captures the mysterious and often perverse workings of the human heart.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003GYEGWU
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins e-books; 1st edition (May 14, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 14, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.9 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 374 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 66 ratings

About the author

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Jill Dawson

Jill Dawson

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Jill Dawson's latest novel THE BEWITCHING will be published by Sceptre in the summer of 2022, and tells the true 16th century story of a nine year old girl who accuses her neighbour of being a witch, with dire consequences for all. In addition to the eleven novels published by Sceptre, Jill is the editor of six anthologies of short stories and poetry. Her other novels are TRICK OF THE LIGHT, MAGPIE, FRED AND EDIE, which was shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel Award and the Orange Prize, WILD BOY, WATCH ME DISAPPEAR, which was longlisted for the Orange Prize, THE GREAT LOVER, a Richard & Judy Summer Read and THE TELL TALE HEART, which was nominated for the Folio Prize. THE CRIME WRITER tells the imagined story of Patricia Highsmith's time living in Suffolk, and won The East Anglian Book of the Year, The East Anglian fiction prize and was runner up in the New Angles award. THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS tells the story of the nanny murdered in the Lucan household in the seventies and was nominated for a Folio award.

Born in Durham, Jill Dawson grew up in Yorkshire. She has won prizes for poetry, short stories and fiction and held many Fellowships, including the Creative Writing Fellowship at the University of East Anglia, where she taught on the MA in Creative Writing course. In 2006 she received an honorary doctorate in recognition of her work and in 2020 became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She lives in an eco house designed by her husband the architect Meredith Bowles in the Cambridgeshire Fens. She runs Gold Dust a mentoring scheme for writers www.gold-dust.org.uk.

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4 out of 5 stars
66 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • michael saitta
    5.0 out of 5 stars FINALLY
    Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    I have read many biographies about Rupert Brooke but this is the first time he has to come to life for me. She has given him flesh and blood. He no longer seems a distant, unreal poet of a past long gone. Good for her.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Jabberwocky
    2.0 out of 5 stars Quite a bit of very sexual content - which made ...
    Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2015
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    Quite a bit of very sexual content - which made sense in the context of the story, but far, far too graphic for my taste. It's the story of Rupert Brooke - but it didn't need the lurid descriptions.
    One person found this helpful
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  • drhcruises
    3.0 out of 5 stars NOT A GOOD REVIEW
    Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2014
    I have not read the book and limited number of reviews makes it difficult to create a good comment. I do think the book is severely overpriced. As the public, receiving a book on-line is not a "REAL" book and therefore, this price is so insane for one to pay, it is difficult for me to understand.
    I believe we, as readers, should stop the purchase of books over the price of $4. Supply and demand drives the market. Remember, Amazon has unlimited supply and much of it is very poorly printed (pages not numbered, poor grammar, mistakes, etc.); therefore, if we stop purchasing, the price will quickly decline while we read some very good books, which only sell for $.99 to $2.99. We should support some of the new authors of good books which are "underpriced" if you are foolish enough to think a download of 200 or 300 pages (real book) is worth the $5 to $20 is a buy.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars deep biographical fiction
    Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2010
    Rupert Brooke arrives in Grantchester, England where he runs the gamut of relationships. He is attracted to a reticent schoolgirl, but flirts outrageously with any female he meets. A male friend seduces Rupert into his first sexual encounter.

    In 1909 prim and proper housemaid Nell Golightly has watched Rupert's carouse and thinks he is shameless. Since her parents died, she vowed to never fall in love as that hurts the survivor. However, Nell falls into swooning lust when she runs into Rupert as he goes for a skinny dip swim. They begin a tryst, but he turns increasingly morose as his myriad of affairs leave him without solace at a time he grieves the death of his brother and doubts his poetry writing skills. Instead of turning to Nell, he rejects her for a Tahitian.

    Nell makes this deep biographical fiction of the Pre WW I era British poet Rupert Brooke come alive as she tells the tale of a talented young man who confused making love with being in love while ironically he sought love everywhere he went. Although he is The Great Lover, in Nell's mind her Rupert also lacked confidence in sustaining and receiving love and his talent as a poet. Jill Dawson provides a powerful perceptive portrait of a man questing for love.

    Harriet Klausner
    13 people found this helpful
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  • Virginia DeBolt
    1.0 out of 5 stars Unless you are British, pass this one up.
    Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2015
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    Rarely do I give up on a book, but I just couldn't get past the first several pages and gave up. If you are British you will understand words that are unfamiliar to most American readers. There are times of confusion when you can't figure out which character is being written about.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Kindle Customer
    2.0 out of 5 stars The Great Lover
    Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2012
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    This book rambles on too much. I got bored very fast and wished that there was more excitement to this story.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Client d'Amazon
    5.0 out of 5 stars note
    Reviewed in France on December 9, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    The book is in a very good quality, I didn't expect it!Thank you very much for using it carefully!Good luck
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  • Katharine Kirby
    5.0 out of 5 stars In reality the diver on the front of the book should be naked!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    Rupert Brooke as The Great Lover, being the title of one of his last poems written in 1914, doesn't mean what the label implies. When we meet him he clearly is not a Great Lover in the modern day understanding of the phrase. He loves life and nature in all it's gorgeous detail, which is poignant and sad for a man whose own life was so short. Having been brought up at Rugby School he has enjoyed the gift of uncommonly good teaching and he had already endured distressing experiences in his close family. RB notices, remembers and is affected by everything he comes across. The loss of his dilettante brother and his baby sister mark him - those were times when this sadness would have been more everyday but still they are his scars. His relationship with his mother Ruth - the Ranee ( the word for a Hindu Queen) is as always complicated. `Her extraordinary skill for sniffing out my every erotic thought' was the bane of his life. All incomprehensible to his new friend Nell,l the housemaid at Granchester, who misses her own mother and wonders why the affection of a mother would be seen to be a bad thing.

    The long languid summer days in Granchester spring from the page with total reality, you can hear the bees buzzing and smell the scones baking. What a wonderful bringing to life of that special bubble of time before the world cracked open into terrible war. Only recognisable afterwards for what it truly was - a microcosm of heaven on earth for some when they didn't know the price they would have to pay for such hedonism. The way in which the maids rushed about after the young gentlemen was amazing, fetching this and that at a word. Honey, strawberries, hot milk, tapioca (!) tea and scones...

    One reviewer says of his love life that he was only interested when he was ignored and I think that was a very perceptive remark. He takes people for granted until they turn to someone else. Then he is sorely put out. His self absorption was revealing however believable for a young man of that age and time, it was intriguing to read about what might have been going on in his head throughout his clumsy sexual development. His thoughts about the future of society hold great foresight - `If bastardy were tolerated - if illegitimacy was not the greatest stain a child could endure, unmarried pregnancy the foulest blow to a girl's repper - how might things alter in England?'

    RB's nervous breakdown was hurriedly dealt with but the story struck true. I was touched by his wild manic way of talking to his concerned friends and the ramblings letting deeply buried thoughts bubble to the surface; the `Service for Men' at Rugby with it's horrible backdrop of abuse to a ten year old boy.

    I was fascinated to read of RB's feelings about the publication of his poems, he was anxious ( and perhaps at the time over confident of his sales) worrying about the wide range of those who would read them, especially his mother, what would they think about them particularly the more risque Lust/Libido. I could understand this concern. The income from the poetry was vital, as were cheques from mother - funding such indulgent travels must have been expensive. I was glad that I had a copy of his Collected PoemsThe Collected Poems Of Rupert Brooke at hand while I was reading this, it really helped. As did refreshing my memory of his life events from some extra research. This book is mix of fact and fiction that really works, making improved understanding of past lives accessible.

    Our sense of smell is paid full respect as much description is made of personal scents, all evocative and helping the reader into the tale. I so loved the unfolding lesson on bee society and the way in which bees were kept at that time. Knowing more about the modern way of bee keeping it was intriguing to learn about the old thatched skeps. Life in the Fens was very interesting to me, eel traps, punt guns, selling the bee products. Jill Dawson lives in that area and so I was pleased that she shares her love of the place.

    Her fictional creation Nell is the voice of the Fen people and very effective she is too. I really kept on reading because I liked her so completely. Nell and her family find their way into your heart and as a separate narration they add great charm and warmth. The treatment of this parallel story reminded me a little of Lark Rise to Candleford or even Cold Comfort Farm! (Mrs. Gotobed, Nellie Golightly). Using Nell was an excellent device for mirroring Rupert Brooke's personality by showing it through more innocent straightforward eyes than those he surrounded himself with.

    The beginning and the end of this book are perfectly constructed, highly satisfactory and must bring a tear to the eye. The request from Arlice is so beautifully fulfilled. There are many wonderful turns of phrase. My favourite was 'Her face tells me that I have departed the frying pan and plunged into the fire'. The last page read you really want to turn back to the front and read it all again. just a small criticism - in a way for me - rather too much for me of 'the secrets of the sheets' it was enough to get to know the man without the heavy scenes involving his experimental adventures with either sex in such detail.

    So, Rupert Brooke, one of the elite Cambridge Apostles, who mixed with the most famous society and literary names of the day, often bagged together with Sassoon and Owen, did not die entirely because of the Great War. He drifted in that direction and lost his life on his way to battle, from sepsis following an infected mosquito bite, even dying reasonably comfortably as described, by his close friend William Denis Browne, on board the empty hospital ship. "I sat with Rupert. At 4 o'clock he became weaker, and at 4.46 he died, with the sun shining all around his cabin, and the cool sea-breeze blowing through the door and the shaded windows. No one could have wished for a quieter or a calmer end than in that lovely bay, shielded by mountains and fragrant with sage and thyme."
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  • Liz Hodgkinson
    4.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed this book as I lap up everything about Rupert ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2014
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    I enjoyed this book as I lap up everything about Rupert Brooke but generally speaking I prefer biographies of real people to novels about them. I'm not entirely sure either that there are many gaps to fill in because there have been several big fat biographies of Brooke, and he is also anatomised in The Neo Pagans. Plus he was surrounded by writers and artists and we already know so much about Brooke and his circle that I'm not convinced there was much more to say. However, for fans of Brooke this novel is a readable and imaginative addition.
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  • Mrs. E. C. Bailey
    3.0 out of 5 stars The Great Lover
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2009
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    The story is a view of life in Cambridge University in the early 20th Century - which seems to be quite quaint and outmoded in this day and age. Rupert Brooke seems to struggle [but why?] over his sexuality.
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  • Lucy cavendish
    5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 16, 2010
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    I cannot understand any reader who finds this book dull. It is beautifully written, meticulously researched wonderfully put together. The whole point of RB is that he probably was a painful man - preoccupied with sex and himself. Please read it. I take my hat off to Ms Dawson. She is a very talented writer.
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