Dark Like Under by Alice Chadwick

DESCRIPTION At an elite secondary school in the English countryside, students and teachers cope with a sudden loss. In the aftermath of a surprising death, students and teachers at an English school grapple with their grief. Yet the bell continues to ring, and normal life—lessons, arguments, flirtations—goes on. As the heat of the late spring day intensifies, allegiances strain and rivalries escalate, and old secrets start to surface. Set against a backdrop of strikes, economic unrest, and the stratified milieus of a small town in the 1980s, Dark Like Under thrums with the richly detailed inner lives of its varied cast of characters. Alice Chadwick's luminous debut captures the promise and risk of late adolescence in a profound exploration of resilience and connection, frustration and grief, renewal and the legacies we leave. ABOUT THE AUTHOR ALICE CHADWICK studied English at Cambridge, and was a student on City Lit’s selective fiction Masterclass. Dark Like Under is her first novel. She lives in London. PRAISE "Even in the face of tragedy, for those in the heady days of late adolescence, lessons go on, friendships falter and flirtations simmer, as Chadwick shows in her unique, evocative take on the coming-of-age novel." — Vogue UK "A slow and absorbing piece of literary fiction... Chadwick’s prose is delicate, precise and not without a little humour... Just lovely." — Marie Claire UK DETAILS Paperback | 344 pages