The Leavetaking - Softcover

A day, crucial and cathartic, in the life of a young Catholic schoolteacher who has returned to Ireland after a year's sabbatical in London where he married an American divorcee. As a result he now faces certain dismissal by the school authorities. Moving from the earliest memories of both the man and the woman, the novel recreates their breaking of the shackles of guilt and duty into the acceptance of a fulfilling adult love.

John McGahern was born in Dublin in 1934. He is the author of six highly acclaimed novels and four collections of short stories, and was the recipient of numerous awards and honours. Amongst Women was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1990.