Only Santas in the Building (Under the Mistletoe collection)

SOON TO BE A MAJOR FILM STARRING EMMA STONE, FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE FAVOURITE Winner of the Whitbread Novel Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize A life without freedom to choose is not worth having. Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of the beautiful Bella, who he brings back to life in a Frankenstein-esque feat. But his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for his creation... But what does Bella think? This story of true love and scientific daring whirls the reader from the private operating-theatres of late-Victorian Glasgow through aristocratic casinos, low-life Alexandria and a Parisian bordello, reaching an interrupted climax in a Scottish church. ________________________ 'A magnificently brisk, funny, dirty, brainy book' London Review of Books 'Visionary, ornate and outrageous' The Independent 'Witty and delightfully written' New York Times 'A brilliant marriage of technique, intelligence, and art.' Kirkus Reviews 'The greatest Scottish novelist since Sir Walter Scott' Anthony Burgess WINNER OF FIVE BAFTAS, TWO GOLDEN GLOBES, and NOMINATED FOR ELEVEN ACADEMY AWARDS. STARRING EMMA STONE, FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE FAVOURITE Winner of the Whitbread Novel Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize A life without freedom to choose is not worth having. Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realised when he finds the drowned body of the beautiful Bella, who he brings back to life in a Frankenstein -esque feat. But his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for his creation . . . But what does Bella think? This story of true love and scientific daring whirls the reader from the private operating-theatres of late-Victorian Glasgow through aristocratic casinos, low-life Alexandria and a Parisian bordello, reaching an interrupted climax in a Scottish church. ________________________ 'A magnificently brisk, funny, dirty, brainy book' London Review of Books 'Visionary, ornate and outrageous' The Independent 'Witty and delightfully written' New York Times ' A brilliant marriage of technique, intelligence, and art.' Kirkus Reviews 'The greatest Scottish novelist since Sir Walter Scott' Anthony Burgess 'Those who, like me, are unsure if they are Alasdair Gray fans or not, ought to fall on Poor Things with delight, and not just because of the almost excessive beauty of its appearance' Philip Hensher, Spectator WINNER OF FOUR ACADEMY AWARDS, FIVE BAFTAS, and TWO GOLDEN GLOBES. STARRING EMMA STONE, FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE FAVOURITE Winner of the Whitbread Novel Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize A life without freedom to choose is not worth having. Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realised when he finds the drowned body of the beautiful Bella, who he brings back to life in a Frankenstein-esque feat. But his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for his creation... But what does Bella think? This story of true love and scientific daring whirls the reader from the private operating-theatres of late-Victorian Glasgow through aristocratic casinos, low-life Alexandria and a Parisian bordello, reaching an interrupted climax in a Scottish church. ________________________'A magnificently brisk, funny, dirty, brainy book'London Review of Books'Visionary, ornate and outrageous'The Independent'Witty and delightfully written'New York Times'A brilliant marriage of technique, intelligence, and art.'Kirkus Reviews'The greatest Scottish novelist since Sir Walter Scott'Anthony Burgess'Those who, like me, are unsure if they are Alasdair Gray fans or not, ought to fall on Poor Things with delight, and not just because of the almost excessive beauty of its appearance'Philip Hensher, Spectator What strange secret made rich, beautiful, tempestuous Bella Baxter irresistible to the poor Scottish medical student Archie McCandless? Was it her mysterious origin in the home of his monstrous friend Godwin Baxter, the genius whose voice could perforate eardrums? This story of true love and scientific daring whirls the reader from the private operating-theatres of late-Victorian Glasgow through aristocratic casinos, low-life Alexandria and a Parisian bordello, reaching an interrupted climax in a Scottish church. A fantasy novel, presented as a discovered a manuscript, set in the nineteenth century. Frankenstein-like tale. Whitbread Novel Award, 1992.