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The Madness

Alison Rattle

2014325 pagesabout 5–7 hours
2014
first published
  • 2014Hot Key Books · 325 pages · ENGISBN 9781471401039

16-year-old Marnie lives in the idyllic coastal village of Clevedon. Despite being crippled by a childhood exposure to polio, she seems set to follow in her mother's footsteps, and become a 'dipper', escorting fragile female bathers into the sea. Her life is simple and safe. But then she meets Noah. Charming, handsome, son-of-the-local-Lord, Noah. She quickly develops a passion for him - a passion which consumes her. As Marnie's infatuation turns to fixation she starts to lose her grip on reality, and a harrowing and dangerous obsession develops that seems certain to end in tragedy.

How it feels

Emotional toneUnflinching
AtmosphereWhimsical

How it reads

Plot intensityCharacter driven
ComplexityLayered

Worth knowing

Romance levelCentral

When and where

ThemesClass
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