Air and angels - Susan Hill

Furnished with a spotless reputation and an unimpeachable record as a don, the Reverend Thomas Cavendish is destined to become Master of his Cambridge college. Fending off the attentions of the young Florence, a friend of his sister's who has set her heart on marrying him, he dedicates himself to the pastimes of the respectable: walking the flat planes of the Fens and tending to his indoor aviary. That is, until the arrival of Kitty. From here on, Cavendish's life of leisure and respectability seems a mere distant memory, as his obsession ferments within him and leads him down a dark path to destruction.

Susan Hill has been a professional writer for over fifty years. Her books have won awards and prizes including the Whitbread, the John Llewellyn Rhys and the Somerset Maugham; and have been shortlisted for the Booker. She was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Honours. Her novels includeStrange Meeting,I'm the King of the CastleandA Kind Man. She has also published autobiographical works and collections of short stories as well as theSimon Serraillerseries of crime novels. The play of her ghost storyThe Woman in Blackhas been running in London's West End since 1988. She is married with two adult daughters and lives in North Norfolk.