When the Feast is Finished

A moving account of the death of Brian Aldiss’ wife Margaret.

Margaret Aldiss, Brian’s wife of thirty years, passed away quickly after a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Based on journals they both kept, When the Feast is Finished is a moving account of those last months of Margaret’s life.

Alongside Margaret’s bravely honest journal entries, Aldiss draws a heartbreaking portrait of the sustaining force of love in the face of a devastating illness.

As husband and wife describe those last few precious months, they give thanks for the thirty years of joy and happiness they shared, the children of whom they are so proud, and the chance to say goodbye.

Reviews

‘Aldiss is a magician’ Sunday Times
‘The titan of science fiction.’ Telegraph

‘Brian Aldiss is one of the most influential – and one of the best – SF writers Britain has ever produced.’ Iain M Banks

‘The best contemporary writer of science fiction.’ Guardian

‘One of the truly prophetic figures of the space age… the colossus of science fiction’
New Yorker

‘Once again he demonstrates the power of his imagination.’ Daily Mail

About the author

Brian Aldiss, OBE, was a fiction and science fiction writer, poet, playwright, critic, memoirist and artist. Born in Norfolk in 1925, after leaving the army, Aldiss worked as a bookseller, which provided the setting for his first book, The Brightfount Diaries (1955). His first published science fiction work was the story ‘Criminal Record’, which appeared in Science Fantasy in 1954. Passing away in 2017, over the course of his life Aldiss wrote nearly 100 books and over 300 short stories – becoming one of the pre-eminent science fiction writers of the 20th and 21st century.