The Separation

THE SEPARATION is the story of twin brothers. Rowers in the 1936 Olympics, they meet Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy; one joins the RAF, and captains a Wellington; he is shot down after a bombing raid on Hamburg and become's Churchill's aide-de-camp; his twin brother, a pacifist, works with the Red Cross, rescuing bombing victims in London.

But this is not a straightforward story of the Second World War: this is an alternate history: the two brothers - both called J.L. Sawyer - live their lives in alternate versions of reality.

In one, the Second World War ends as we imagine it did; in the other, thanks to efforts of an eminent team of negotiators headed by Hess, the war ends in 1941.

THE SEPARATION is an emotionally riveting story of how ordinary people can make a difference; it's a savage critique of Winston Churchill, the man credited as the saviour of Britain and the Western World, and it's a story of how one perceives and shapes the past.

THE SEPARATION achieved the rare double honour of winning both the Arthur C. Clarke and the British Science Fiction Awards THE PRESTIGE also won a very rare double honour: it was awarded both a major literary prize - The James Tait Black Prize - and the World Fantasy Award for best novel Christopher Priest is unique: an acclaimed novelist of both contemporary and science fiction/fantasy literature

About the author:

Christopher Priest's novels have built him an inimitable dual reputation as a contemporary novelist and a leading figure in modern SF and fantasy. His novel THE PRESTIGE is unique in winning both a major literary prize (the James Tait Black Award) and a major genre prize (The World Fantasy Award). He was selected for the original Best of Young British Novelists in 1983. He lives with his wife, the writer Leigh Kennedy, and their children in Hastings.