Never Again

Hugh Craddock’s idyllic childhood in India comes to a sudden and violent end when his parents are murdered by natives hostile to British occupation. Abruptly snatched away from every happiness he has ever known, the young orphan is packed off to England to live with distant and uncaring relatives. After experiencing so much loss, Hugh hopes things will get better when he goes away to school, but he finds it difficult to fit in with the other boys. His only source of solace is his friendship with Brian Chorley, with whom he forms a mutual and intimate bond. But when Chorley falls dangerously ill, Hugh must confront the possibility that he will suffer yet another loss, perhaps the most devastating one of all.


The second of the forty volumes of fiction written by Francis King (1923-2011) over an award-winning career that spanned seven decades, Never Again (1947) is one of his finest and was one of his own favourites. Never before reprinted and long nearly unobtainable, King’s moving and heartfelt novel, based on his own boyhood, returns to print in this edition, which includes a new introduction by Robert Khan.


“One of our great writers, of the calibre of Graham Greene and Nabokov.” - Beryl Bainbridge


“He deserves the widest possible readership.” - Melvyn Bragg, Punch


“Mr. King is, of course, an extremely skilful writer. All his characters are credible, all worth observing.” - Auberon Waugh, Evening Standard


“No one writes better prose than Francis King.” - Ruth Rendell