Paperback: Fairness by Ferdinand Mount

The fifth novel in Mount's post-war saga, A Chronicle of Modern Twilight, opens in a Rohmer-esque mist on a beach in Deauville. Gus Cotton is spending his summer babysitting two wealthy American children. One morning, as he walks his charges across the sand, he encounters a golden-haired girl called Helen. It's only after Helen leaves the resort that he realises he's in love. As adults, the two continue to meet, but fail to connect. Gus, a civil servant, is left for ever on the sidelines of Helen's life, a spectator to her inappropriate alliances and strange career moves. An unashamedly old-fashioned novel, with a lingering eye for character and place.