We are delighted to announce that Juliet Brooke, Associate Publisher at Sceptre Books, has acquired UK and Commonwealth (exc. Canada) rights for James Cahill’s second novel, THE VIOLET HOUR, from Samuel Hodder at Blake Friedmann.
A sweeping psychological drama and razor-sharp satire of the international art world, THE VIOLET HOUR is a gripping and insightful glimpse into a maelstrom of glittering parties, titanic reputations and fatal rivalries.
A young man falls to his death from a tower block in London. Gradually, this apparently random tragedy is shown to be entwined with the lives, desires and regrets of the novel’s three protagonists as they grapple with their pasts and presents – and the ruthlessness of the international art world.
Assured, intelligent, laced with notes of violence and eroticism, THE VIOLET HOUR is a perfect follow up to TIEPOLO BLUE (which publishes today, 9 June 2022), a debut novel that already garnered praise and admiration from readers and reviewers alike. Like TIEPOLO BLUE, THE VIOLET HOUR weaves sophisticated ideas about expression, authenticity and performance into an exquisitely written story you cannot put down.
James Cahill said: ‘I’m hugely excited to be publishing my second novel with Sceptre. THE VIOLET HOUR is a portrait of the contemporary art world – a world I’ve existed in for many years – but it’s also a story of loss, longing and redemption. I can’t wait for it to come to life as a book, and I’m looking forward to working again with Juliet Brooke, Charlotte Humphery and the whole team at Sceptre.’
Charlotte Humphery, senior commissioning editor at Sceptre, who is working with Brooke’s authors while Brooke is on parental leave, said: ‘TIEPOLO BLUE is a remarkable debut – confident, beautiful and thrilling to read – and we’re so excited to be publishing it this month. THE VIOLET HOUR confirms James Cahill as a vital voice in literary fiction – we’re thrilled to invest in his work. And I know that his new and future fans will love this gorgeous, sophisticated new novel.’
Sceptre will publish THE VIOLET HOUR in Spring 2024.
Praise for TIEPOLO BLUE:
‘The spirit of E.M. Forster is alive and well in James Cahill. The same palpating of damaged moral tissue, the same psychological canniness, the same gently invoked erudition, the same exactitude and eloquence – except Cahill is able to explore forbidden themes that Forster feared to touch on except posthumously’ – Edmund White
‘This is the best novel I have read for ages. It is so beautifully written, not a false note in any sentence… it’s just masterly… My heart was constantly in my throat as I read… [There is] so much to enjoy, to contemplate, to wonder at, and to be lost in.’ – Stephen Fry
‘Imagine if Hollinghurst and Murdoch collaborated on a witty update of DEATH IN VENICE and you’ll see the appeal of James Cahill’s assured debut.’ – Patrick Gale
‘Sensual, treacherous and elegiac.’ – Maggi Hambling
‘[An] arresting debut novel… [the prose] has a masterly attention to (especially visual) detail and in an irresistibly propulsive, almost swaggering style…there are moments here and there that would make even Hollinghurst blush….’ – Literary Review
‘This divine debut from art critic and academic James Cahill is the smart, sexy read you need in 2022.’ – Evening Standard
About James Cahill:
James Cahill was born in London. Over the past decade, he has worked in the art world and academia, combining writing and research with a role at a leading contemporary art gallery. He is currently a Research Fellow in Classics at King’s College London. His writing on art has appeared in publications including The Burlington Magazine, The Times Literary Supplement, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and The London Review of Books. He was the lead author and consulting editor of FLYING TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN (Phaidon, 2018), a survey of classical myth in art from antiquity to the present day. He was the co-curator of ‘The Classical Now’, an exhibition at King’s College London (March-April 2018), examining the relationships between ancient, modern and contemporary art.