The Young Accomplice

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While Joyce (the elder of the two) is rather sly and outspoken, Charlie is much quieter – a diligent young man who seems eager to learn. He responds well to the expectations set by the Mayhoods, contributing to the farm labour alongside his architectural training. In truth, there is something of the young Arthur in Charlie Savigear, a gentleness combined with curiosity and determination, qualities that Florence detects and hopes to nurture. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.

Wood writes with superb attention to detail and authenticity. My only question is why the Mayhoods are shown to have a diesel-powered ‘wagon’ at a time when all but the heaviest goods vehicles would have used petrol engines. Wood is a seriously talented writer, able to enter the minds of his characters with eerie precision. The Young Accomplice is an involving tale of revenge and responsibility, which, while it devastates, also tells us that new lives can be built among the ashes FT Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial? Exhilarating , earthy, cerebral, frank and unflinching . . . A masterfully paced and suspenseful read' - Independent, on The EclipticBenjamin Wood is building a sublime body of work. This masterful, suspenseful novel is his best yet. It swallows you up. I love it. ​ David Whitehouse, author of About A Son For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. Was this how it was going to be for ever? Wrapping things for customers in womenswear, no conversation. Polishing the counters so her face reflected in the brass and sweeping floors at closing time until the boss said she could leave. How much worse off would she be if she went driving with a stranger for a while?'

An involving tale of revenge and responsibility, which, while it devastates, also tells us that new lives can be built among the ashes' FT Enter Joyce and Charlie Savigear – siblings in their late teens – who win the Mayhoods’ drawing competition for borstal kids with an eye for design.Benjamin Wood was born in 1981 and grew up in northwest England. He is the author of four acclaimed novels. Exhilarating, earthy, cerebral, frank and unflinching . . . A masterfully paced and suspenseful read Independent, on The Ecliptic Benjamin Wood's tender fourth novel is about nature and idealism, but it also examines responsibility and the fragility of inspiration. New Statesman

His latest work The Young Accomplice was published by Penguin Viking in June 2022. It was selected as one of the books of the year by The Times ​& Sunday Times, New Statesman, The Spectator, The Irish Times, and others. A serialised version of the novel was broadcast as a BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime in April 2023. Wood’s natural observational style (Arthur’s realisation, as he looks at a man in the pub, that “every filling in that mouth — and likely everybody else’s in the building — had a faint connection to his wife”, whose father was a dentist, is one example), combined with his sensibility for the vocabulary and syntax of the time (the prose never feels stilted) make The Young Accomplice a well-wrought novel whose pleasure is in each careful scene, moment and sentence. Niamh DonnellyBenjamin Wood is building a sublime body of work. This masterful, suspenseful novel is his best yet. It swallows you up. I love it David Whitehouse, author of About A Son Wood's] best novel yet . . . [he] deserves to be far better known John Self, Irish Times, 2022 Books of the Year Siblings Joyce and Charlie Savigear are 'rescued' from their Borstal sentences by married architects Arthur and Florence Mayhood, who run their architectural practice from a Surrey farm, which they plan to be self-sufficient - and they also seek a couple of apprentices to work with them, both on the farm and in their architectural practice. The Mayhoods are both keen followers of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright and his Taliesin community in Arizona and Arthur, having ended up in Borstal himself when he was a teenager, wishes to give Joyce and Charlie the chance to make something of themselves. Both have been selected following a drawing competition run in conjunction with the various Borstals by Arthur and Florence, where they both showed promise. The atmosphere of 1950s Britain is well evoked – all Woodbines and pints of mild – and the complicated relationship between the Mayhoods and the Savigears is nicely developed and affecting, with one especially sharp moment when Arthur looks afresh at the troubled Savigears “as though he’d recognised a basic failure in his sums”. It is a pity, though, that this story of messy human miscalculations should resolve so magically and undeservedly, as it does, in a gilded New York hotel room, in the presence of a saintly Frank Lloyd Wright. You may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side.

Benjamin Wood knows how to generate tension, makes lively characters you can see and hear, and writes about rural England in a sensitive, considered way that doesn't stray into the nostalgic. A huge talent Hilary Mantel thriller, romance and coming-of-age to gripping, memorable effect Sunday Times, Best Books for the Year Wood’s unnerving fourth novel follows young siblings from borstal to living on a farm in 50s England. As a portrait of youthful mistakes and adult blindness, The Young Accomplice is both tender and cutting; it is often subtle and occasionally thrilling. Christopher Shrimpton, Guardian

And critics Johanna Thomas -Corr and Max Liu join Chris to discuss their richly varied recommendations for summer reading. Chris Power talks to Benjamin Wood about his novel The Young Accomplice. Set in 1952 the novel explores how Frank Lloyd Wright’s modernist vision inspired a married couple to set up their own architectural office in rural Surrey, where they offer a creative education and opportunity to orphaned siblings fresh out of borstal. Benjamin Wood's The Young Accompliceis a treat for those who have followed his career ... Its greatest quality is its understanding of how characters exist only in relation to one another. Each pairing gives us a new angle, and added depth, with the clarity of a diamond. Wood's daring narrative decisions show he hasn't lost the old spark, but has just added to it with his new repertoire. What, it asks, are the opportunities available to someone who wants to leap clear of their wrong beginnings? John Self, The Critic Best Books of the Year 2022 A resounding achievement . . . Rich, beautiful and written by an author of great depth and resource Guardian, on The Ecliptic