The Patrick Melrose Novels Collection Edward St Aubyn 5 Books Set Mothers Milk Never Mind Bad News..

This five-book collection brings together Edward St Aubyn’s Patrick Melrose novels, following Patrick from early childhood through adulthood and into later life. Across the set, Patrick is shown in sharply observed social settings, from a family house in the south of France to Manhattan, the English countryside and a final gathering to mark his mother’s death.

The series traces a life shaped by volatile adults, addiction, and the long reach of the past. Patrick’s experiences include a childhood disrupted by shocking events, a weekend in New York to collect his father’s ashes, and a party where his search for redemption and forgiveness is tested. Later, the Melrose family faces strain and change, before Patrick confronts what it might mean to live without parents.

Included titles

• Never Mind
• Bad News
• Some Hope
• Mother's Milk
• At Last

Key details

• Five-book Patrick Melrose novels collection
• By Edward St Aubyn
• Includes Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, Mother's Milk and At Last

Synopses

Never Mind

At his mother’s family house in the south of France, five-year-old Patrick Melrose explores a garden while navigating the volatile lives of the adults around him. With guests expected for dinner, an afternoon unlike the summer days before leads to shocking events that split his world in two.

Bad News

At twenty-two and in the grip of addiction, Patrick must fly to New York to collect his father’s ashes. Over a weekend in Manhattan, his search for drugs and the pressure of old acquaintances and inner voices drive him into a spiral, as he tries to stay ahead of his past.

Some Hope

Cleaned-up and world-weary, Patrick attends a glittering party in the English countryside. Among the crowd, his search for redemption and his capacity for forgiveness are challenged by the cruelties he observes, as he looks for release from the savageries of childhood.

Mother's Milk

The Melroses, once illustrious and wealthy, are in peril. Amid broken promises, child-rearing, adultery and assisted suicide, Patrick sees his wife Mary consumed by motherhood, his mother drawn to a New Age foundation, and his son Robert understanding more than he should. Even so, a new generation brings tenderness and the possibility of change.

At Last

As people arrive to pay their respects to his mother Eleanor, Patrick questions whether life without parents will bring the liberation he imagined. When the memorial ends and the family gathers one last time, he begins to sense a new current: the chance of some form of safety.