The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale

Recorded in June 2010 for release in August 2010 – Blackstone Audio

On its way to the Galápagos Islands, a light aircraft crashes into the sea. Zoologist Daniel Kennedy is confronted with a stark Darwinian choice. Should he save himself, or Nancy, the woman he loves? But how can one moment of betrayal ever be forgiven? And after he escapes the plane and swims for help, who is the elusive figure who guides him away from certain death?
Back in London, Daniel thinks he finds the answer; it is connected with his great grandfather and the first horrific day of Passchendaele. But as the past collapses into the present, the fissures in his relationship with Nancy show through. Until he is given a second chance to prove his courage and earn her forgiveness. The Blasphemer is a novel that speaks to the head as well as the heart of the reader.

“A great achievement…To take on the First World War as so very many have done and make it fresh is remarkable.”
—Melvyn Bragg

“Does suspense exceptionally well, and is a book that won’t leave your fingernails intact…a terrifically exciting and thought-provoking must-read.”
—John Harding, Daily Mail

“A fine novel; strange and unforgettable.”
—Kate Saunders, The Times [London]

“Beautiful…Farndale’s elegant prose, his storytelling ability and the wise tolerance with which he views…his characters lend his exhilarating novel a tenderly redemptive afterimage.”
—Jane Shilling, Sunday Telegraph