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$16.20The Story
"It's a rare pleasure to read this novel."--Sarah Moss, author of Ripeness
"This one's going to stick for a while."--Leif Enger, bestselling author of I Cheerfully Refuse
ONE OF THE OBSERVER'S BEST DEBUT NOVELISTS OF 2026
A debut novel inspired by the true story of the author's grandparents, tracing the slow-burn love story between a Catholic priest and a progressive theology teacher across Rome and England during the twentieth century
It's the 1960s, and David is handsome, charismatic, and sworn to celibacy. An exemplary Catholic priest, devotion to God is all he's ever known, and all he ever thinks he will. In London, Margaret is adrift, healing from the loss of her parents and the end of a recent love affair. Increasingly drawn to the church, she sets out to join the new revolutions of sex and faith, taking up a teaching position at an all-girls school in David's diocese.
Decades later, Margaret is being cared for by her grandson, who has just discovered the strange truth of his family history. So begins the story of forbidden love and ardent faith, devotion and sacrifice, as the consequences of David and Margaret's unlikely union play out across generations. A first novel from an award-winning poet, A Private Man traces the exquisite love of two brilliant characters caught between passion and piety as they seek to usher the church they cherish into a more progressive era.
Author: Stephanie Sy-Quia
Publisher: Grove Press
Published: 04/14/2026
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.10h x 5.60w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9780802166906
Review Citation(s):
Booklist 01/08/2026
Publishers Weekly 02/16/2026
Kirkus Reviews 03/01/2026
About the Author
Stephanie Sy-Quia was born in California in 1995 and is based in London. Her writing and criticism have been published in The Guardian, The White Review, The Boston Review, Granta, and elsewhere. Her debut poetry collection Amnion, published in the UK by Granta Poetry in 2021, received a Somerset Maugham Award and was a Poetry Book Society Winter Recommendation; was longlisted for the Rathbones Folio and RSL Ondaatje Prizes; and won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. She is the recipient of an Eric Gregory Award and is a fourth-generation teacher.
Description
"It's a rare pleasure to read this novel."--Sarah Moss, author of Ripeness
"This one's going to stick for a while."--Leif Enger, bestselling author of I Cheerfully Refuse
ONE OF THE OBSERVER'S BEST DEBUT NOVELISTS OF 2026
A debut novel inspired by the true story of the author's grandparents, tracing the slow-burn love story between a Catholic priest and a progressive theology teacher across Rome and England during the twentieth century
It's the 1960s, and David is handsome, charismatic, and sworn to celibacy. An exemplary Catholic priest, devotion to God is all he's ever known, and all he ever thinks he will. In London, Margaret is adrift, healing from the loss of her parents and the end of a recent love affair. Increasingly drawn to the church, she sets out to join the new revolutions of sex and faith, taking up a teaching position at an all-girls school in David's diocese.
Decades later, Margaret is being cared for by her grandson, who has just discovered the strange truth of his family history. So begins the story of forbidden love and ardent faith, devotion and sacrifice, as the consequences of David and Margaret's unlikely union play out across generations. A first novel from an award-winning poet, A Private Man traces the exquisite love of two brilliant characters caught between passion and piety as they seek to usher the church they cherish into a more progressive era.
Author: Stephanie Sy-Quia
Publisher: Grove Press
Published: 04/14/2026
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.10h x 5.60w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9780802166906
Review Citation(s):
Booklist 01/08/2026
Publishers Weekly 02/16/2026
Kirkus Reviews 03/01/2026
About the Author
Stephanie Sy-Quia was born in California in 1995 and is based in London. Her writing and criticism have been published in The Guardian, The White Review, The Boston Review, Granta, and elsewhere. Her debut poetry collection Amnion, published in the UK by Granta Poetry in 2021, received a Somerset Maugham Award and was a Poetry Book Society Winter Recommendation; was longlisted for the Rathbones Folio and RSL Ondaatje Prizes; and won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. She is the recipient of an Eric Gregory Award and is a fourth-generation teacher.
