John Banville is one of the finest and most critically-acclaimed writers of his generation. With elegance, insight and wit, he has secured a devoted readership and there can be few more eagerly anticipated literary events than a new John Banville novel. Having written several crime novels under the pen name Benjamin Black, this is the first novel under his own name since he won the 2005 Man Booker Prize with The Sea.

First Light is a bitter-sweet erotic comedy with magical overtones, a sort of demotic Midsummer Night's Dream. Set across one single summer's day, from dawn to the early hours of the next day, this is a funny, moving and accessible novel that will delight Banville fans as well as bringing new readers to this most assured of writers.