Press

What the critics say

An exceptional novel, a tour-de-force from an outstanding writer.
-

No stranger to controversy, Melvin Burgess' latest novel is as hard-hitting as ever. It is a gutsy, powerful story... This is Burgess' homage to Dickens as he updates the themes and issues of Oliver Twist. Like Dickens, this is also a moral tale - there is a good dose of retribution and the central character comes through against the odds.
- The Bookseller

The contrast of Nicholas as powerless child and his adult self able to obtain some measure of retribution is powerfully done.
- Sue Baker - The Bookseller

It's hard hitting, typically controversial.
- Fiona Noble, The Bookseller

If there was ever going to be someone brave enough to turn abuse in children's homes into a novel for teenagers, it was Melvin Burgess... Burgess remains unapologetic and it's with good cause.
- Yorkshire Post

The material is disturbing and Burgess's writing style will, as usual, divide critics, but it's a brave exploration of how the brutalisation of children reverberates long after the violence has passed.
- Daily Mail

Without a doubt Burgess's most substantial, ambitious work to date, Nicholas Dane is harrowing and riveting... his psychological insights are rewardingly complex, and he doesn't shy away from the emotions felt by the boys who are exploited and damaged, yet still crave affection from their attacker... Nicholas Dane is certainly an important book that needed to be written.
- Daily Telegraph

A couragious novel.
- INIS (Ireland)

Burgess is able to show how the villain often starts as the victim.
- Glasgow Herald

This is an emotional and provocative book where old hatred surfaces and murders and revenge can lead to an unforgettable climax.
- Irish Post

I think Melvin Burgess is the only author of the three [Kevin Brooks, Jenny Valentine] who really understands teenagers.
- The Sunday Express

A book to be read and discussed at length with teenagers.
- School Librarian