The Given Day

This is a sprawling, enthralling novel… every sentence is a treat, every image vivid… an extraordinary freshness and vitality * Sunday Telegraph *
This is a book with Big Ambition written all over it: a thick, doorstopping, compulsively readable epic * The Times *
Wrenchingly suspenseful… A majestic, fiery epic [with] a rich, intricate story * The New York Times *
The acclaimed author of Mystic River has produced a contender for the Big American Novel… not only a powerful, beautifully written novel, but the best kind of history lesson * Daily Mail *
The Given Day stands in the great tradition of the American novel, setting an enthralling personal story against a great sweep of history. The result is epic, romantic and intelligent. I loved it – KATE ATKINSON
A grand historical epic that rather conspicuously sets its cap at the status of Great American Novel * Independent *
[A] brilliant historical epic. Lehane earned his reputation for writing crime thrillers…And the same hard-boiled skills - and sheer love of storytelling remain in place now he’s turned to something more ambitious. * Daily Telegraph *
A brawling, brawny, muscular epic - exactly what great mainstream novels used to be – LEE CHILD
Although Lehane is keen to offer a complete historical portrait of Boston after the First World War, he does not stint on characters and plot either. It is an accomplished balancing act * Daily Express *
Dennis Lehane takes on the volatile beginnings of the American century and, like the master storyteller he is, effortlessly makes that vast canvas come alive. A rich and satisfying epic – STEWART O’NAN, author of THE NIGHT COUNTRY

Dennis Lehane grew up in the Dorchester section of Boston’s inner-city. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked as a counsellor with mentally handicapped and abused children, waited tables, parked cars, drove limos, worked in bookstores, and loaded tractor-trailers. His one regret is that no one ever gave him a chance to tend bar. He has an MFA from Florida International University, and is the writer-in-residence at Eckerd College in St Petersburg, Florida, where he runs the Writers in Paradise Writers’ Conference. He and his wife divide their time between St. Petersburg and Boston.

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