The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst

2. The Stranger's Child

The Stranger’s Child is a startling take on the grand country-manor novel. Five interlinked stories explore the events that follow the amorous advances made on various family members by the arrogant yet esteemed poet Cecil Valance, and show that things are not always as they appear. Long-listed for the Man Booker Prize, it’s filled with passion and intrigue; the prose is dense but will leave you infinitely satisfied.

The Stranger's Child, Alan Hollinghurst, $32.

— A.L.