[ book tip by Ann Morgan ] I’ve been following the progress of independent publisher Legend Press with interest since the company was first founded back in 2005 and it seems to me that the publication of William Coles’ The Well-Tempered Clavier marked something of a turning point for the plucky little outfit, which is now starting to give some of the mainstreamers a run for their money. 

Set at Eton College and following an illicit affair between a pupil and his piano teacher, The Well-Tempered Clavier could easily have been little more than a sensationalist bonk-buster set behind usually-closed doors. When I first picked up the book a year or so ago, this was just what I feared. Yet I was pleasantly surprised. Far from being a two-dimensional exposé, the book is a thorough-going dissection of first love and, more specifically, first jealousy. Neatly structured, it goes to the heart of feelings with which nearly every reader will identify. Of course, an element of the sensational remains, something Legend Press were not slow to capitalise on with a vigorous marketing campaign. But then who can blame them? It’s a tough world out there for the independents. Although, if you ask me, this won’t be the last you hear of Legend Press or Coles.

[ book info ] Coles, William: The Well-Tempered Clavier. (Book language: English) Legend Press, 2007 . ISBN: 9780955103278.