It’s the summer of 1920 and Tom Birkin, still recovering from the horrors of the Great War and an unhappy marriage, arrives in a small village in the Yorkshire countryside to begin the work of uncovering a medieval wall painting in the local church. Over the course of one summer month, Birkin works hidden from sight on his scaffold, bringing into view inch by inch a masterpiece hidden for centuries. A stranger in a small, tightly knit community, he gradually finds acceptance and begins the process of recovering from brutality and sadness.

First published in 1980, the novel was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and later adapted as a film. I read it as a student when it first appeared and I was curious to see if I would enjoy it as much the second time around.  Beautiful and truthful, it’s a work of perfection, capturing brilliantly the melancholy of later life like the hint of autumn in a late summer’s day.