{"product_id":"the-charioteer-9780375714184","title":"The Charioteer","description":"After enduring an injury at Dunkirk during World War II, Laurie Odell is sent to a rural veterans' hospital in England to convalesce. There he befriends the young, bright Andrew, a conscientious objector serving as an orderly. As they find solace and companionship together in the idyllic surroundings of the hospital, their friendship blooms into a discreet, chaste romance. Then one day, Ralph Lanyon, a mentor from Laurie's schoolboy days, suddenly reappears in Laurie's life, and draws him into a tight-knit social circle of world-weary gay men. Laurie is forced to choose between the sweet ideals of innocence and the distinct pleasures of experience. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOriginally published in the United States in 1959, \u003cb\u003eThe Charioteer\u003c\/b\u003e is a bold, unapologetic portrayal of male homosexuality during World War II that stands with Gore Vidal's \u003cb\u003eThe City and the Pillar\u003c\/b\u003e and Christopher Isherwood's \u003cb\u003eBerlin Stories\u003c\/b\u003e as a monumental work in gay literature.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMary Renault was born in London and educated at Oxford. She then trained for three years as a nurse, and wrote her first published novel, \u003cb\u003ePromise of Love\u003c\/b\u003e. Her next three novels were written while serving in WWII. After the war, she settled in South Africa and traveled considerably in Africa and Greece. It was at this time that she began writing her brilliant historical reconstructions of ancient Greece, including \u003cb\u003eThe King Must Die, The Last of the Wine\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003eThe Persian Boy\u003c\/b\u003e. She died in Cape Town in 1983.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50644471808274,"sku":"9780375714184","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d8160865-0a6a-4f56-a1cd-8944a786adcf.jpg?v=1733111187","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-charioteer-9780375714184","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}