A Private Man: ‘A thrilling love story of intellect and passion’ The Observer, best debut novelists of 2026

Set in mid-century Rome and England, this forbidden slow-burn love story will take your breath away‘Lush, evocative and sexy’ - The Sunday Times'A thrilling love story of intellect and passion' - The Observer'Truly outstanding: clever, passionate and as clean as a bone' - Melissa HarrisonRome, 1953.David is young, handsome, charismatic and sworn to celibacy.He is freshly ordained and about to return to England to begin life as a priest.Devotion to God is all he’s ever known. In London, Margaret is entangled in an impossible love affair.Committed to living on her own terms without sacrificing her faith, she becomes drawn to a women’s movement challenging the archaic rules of the Church. When they are thrown together in David's countryside parish, something ignites in each of them, and so begins a decades-long secret with consequences that will reverberate throughout the generations. READERS LOVE A PRIVATE MAN‘I just love everything about this book’‘Lives and breathes along with you as y