“One of the hottest debuts of the year.”
–O, The Oprah Magazine
“Every work of literature is a story of survival, a battle against fate or a struggle for love. The Steady Running of the Hour is all three . . . Go straddles the decades with profound verisimilitude . . . When I finished, I wanted immediately to start it again.” -Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Unsparing and evocative.” -Washington PosT
“Richly imagined . . . a heady blend of romance, history, and adventure . . . War’s horrors, love’s joys, obsession’s perils and identity’s complexities. In this affecting and accomplished debut, Go addresses them all, and he does so with intelligence, grace and compassion—and with the realization that resolution can elude us. Riveting and addictive, The Steady Running of the Hour compels the reader to reflect on the brevity and breadth of time—and of life.” -Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Ambitious… this is a remarkable work.”
-Booklist
“Justin Go’s impressive and ambitious debut is meticulously plotted and researched, and combines the narrative drive of Dan Brown with the literary sensibility of Alan Hollinghurst.”
-Financial Times
THE STEADY RUNNING OF THE HOUR
A Novel
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ABOUT THE STEADY RUNNING OF THE HOUR
In 1924, the English mountaineer Ashley Walsingham dies attempting to summit Mount Everest, leaving his fortune to his former lover, Imogen Soames-Andersson—whom he has not seen in seven years. Ashley’s solicitors search in vain for Imogen, but the estate remains unclaimed.
Nearly eighty years later, new information leads the same law firm to Tristan Campbell, a young American who could be the estate’s rightful heir. If Tristan can prove he is Imogen’s descendant, the inheritance will be his. But with only weeks before Ashley’s trust expires, Tristan must hurry to find the evidence he needs.
From London archives to Somme battlefields to the Eastfjords of Iceland, Tristan races to piece together the story behind the unclaimed riches: a reckless love affair pursued only days before Ashley’s deployment to the Western Front; a desperate trench battle fought by soldiers whose hope is survival rather than victory; an expedition to the uncharted heights of the world’s tallest mountain. Following a trail of evidence that stretches to the far edge of Europe, Tristan becomes consumed by Ashley and Imogen’s story. But as he draws close to the truth, Tristan realizes he may be seeking something more than an unclaimed fortune.
MORE PRAISE FOR THE STEADY RUNNING OF THE HOUR
“Gifted storyteller Go captures a period feel . . . This story is a page-turner and an impressive first work, sure to be appreciated by fans of historical and travel fiction.” -Library Journal
"A SPELLBINDING HISTORICAL NOVEL."
-THE SATURDAY EVENING POST
“Destined to join the long list of wartime romances that have been turned into Hollywood movies (think The English Patient and Atonement) . . . The Steady Running Of The Hour will leave you feeling emotionally drained and historically enlightened.”
-History of War Magazine (UK)
“Go’s intriguing first novel spans the 20th century . . . with vivid accounts of wartime France, pioneering mountaineering expeditions, and an isolated village in Iceland.” -BBC.com, “Ten Best New Books”
“Poetic, epic, expansive, bloody with the battlefields of the war, and crisp and daunting with the peaks of Everest. Sweet and haunting, The Steady Running of The Hour captures the disconnection of our modern world.” –Interview Magazine
“WITH THIS DEBUT, JUSTIN GO DEPLOYS THE ELEMENTS OF A CAPER–AN UNCLAIMED FORTUNE, AN ILLICIT AFFAIR—IN AN ASSURED LITERARY THRILLER.”
-WALL STREET JOURNAL MAGAZINE
“Go’s debut is ambitious in many ways: it evokes a time of privileged daring in which British climbers, defying post-WWI disillusionment, climb Mt. Everest with foie gras at the ready; it depicts a love that transcends time and disdains convention; and it fluidly moves between past and present … heartfelt.” -Publishers Weekly