PALEWELL PRESS

Sharif Gemie's brilliant novel immerses readers in 1950s London. Edmund and Nafah are married. He’s from Wales, she’s from Palestine: together, they run a bookshop. In 1956, they argue bitterly about the Suez Crisis and the British-French-Israeli invasion of Nasser’s Egypt. Will their marriage survive?    

Nafah and Edmund inhabit a disturbingly familiar world. Suez sparks racial tensions on the streets, the Middle East is in crisis, Russia appeals to British protestors. Who can be trusted?  

While Edmund and Nafah bargain with each other, new forms of music fill their lives. The nostalgic sounds of Trad Jazz evoke a New Orleans never-never land and the Folk Revival searches for an alternative British identity. These new sounds inspire Edmund and Nafah to act in new ways: but will music bring them together or drive them apart?

The book will launch in the last quarter of 2026. Advance orders can be placed from this page for £12.00 plus postage.