Those Barren Leaves Duckworth Jack Randall has never had

Jack Randall has never had much luck

'A brilliant and beautiful novel' Jan Askelund

one of Britain's most prolific serial murderers

glowing beaming thing was Mr Pickwick

But a mysterious boat explosion and the discovery of unidentifiable body parts keeps Anna anchored to the present

Those Barren Leaves Duckworth Jack Randall has never hadIn a renovated Italian palace set above the blue of the sea, the Junoesque figure of Mrs Aldwinkle moves among her guests. These include a poet who earns his living editing The Rabbit Fancier's Gazette; a popular novelist who records every detail of her affair with another guest as future literary material; an aging philosopher who pursues a wealthy yet mentally disabled heiress and a pair of na ve and charming young lovers. Deliciously satirical,