In 1952, Charles and Mary Freeman marry, take possession of a mansion high on a hill overlooking a small industrial town somewhere in the heart of England, and begin their family. This, Tim Pears’ second novel, is the sweeping, rich, and astonishing tale of the first 30 years of their lives and the lives of their four children, Simon, James, Robert, and Alice.Compellingly drawn and infinitely resonant, the stories of these four children, stories of both joy and tragedy, create a generous epic of the life of a family, and of a country.