The edge of pleasure - Philippa Stockley

'On his forty-second birthday, Gilver Memmer woke up and realised he had slept for over ten years.' As a small child, Gilver was a precocious talent. At ten, he had worked out the connection between the possession of artistic skill and the granting of sexual favours. By the time he was twenty-eight he was fabulously rich, with the world, especially women, at his feet. Life becomes so accommodating he forgets to bother doing the thing that brought him his fame. Year after year it seems to make no difference to his success. Then, within the space of a few short weeks, his money dries up, his house burns down and drink becomes his new best friend. Suddenly, Gilver is ready and desperate to swap his reputation for redemption. The question is, where to find it? In sweet, caring, besotted Alice, Gilver might have his answer. But Alice's best friend Juliette is equally caught up in the painter, and the dark secrets she holds threatens to destroy him ...Reminiscent of a young Beryl Bainbridge or Muriel Spark, The Edge of Pleasure is a stylish first novel from a wonderful new writing talent.