<p><b>One of the great coming-of-age tales, now with a new introduction by Alice Winn, author of <i>In Memoriam</i></b><br> <br> <br> <br> 'Decades have passed since I first discovered <i>A Separate Peace</i> but its impact remains unforgettable. It's a deeply moving coming-of-age story, set against the backdrop of war' <b>M.L. Stedman, author of <i>The Light Between Oceans</i></b><br> <br> <br> <br> In the uncertain early years of the second world war, two boys collide at a prestigious New England boarding school. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. As they spiral into a fraught, intense friendship, a shocking act of violence will banish the innocence of these boys and their world forever.<br> <br> <br> <br> An American modern classic and perennial bestseller, <i>A Separate Peace</i> is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence, and a haunting treatise on the horrors of war.<br> <br> <br> <br> 'A model of restraint, deeply felt and beautifully written' <b><i>Observer</i></b><br> <br> <br> <br> 'Exceptional power and distinction' <b><i>The Times</i></b><br> <br> <br> <br> 'A quietly vital and cleanly written novel that moves, page by page, toward a most interesting target' <b>Truman Capote</b><br> <br> <br> <br> 'A novel that made such a deep impression on me at sixteen that I can still conjure the atmosphere in my fifties: of yearning, infatuation mingled indistinguishably with envy, and remorse' <b>Lionel Shriver</b></p> <br> <br>