By turns harrowing and hilarious, these beautifully written novels dissect the English upper class as we follow Patrick Melroseœs story from child abuse to heroin addiction and recovery. Never Mind, the first novel, unfolds over a day and an evening at the familyœs chateaux in the south of France, where the sadistic and terrifying figure of David Melrose dominates the lives of his five-year-old son, Patrick, and his rich and unhappy American mother, Eleanor. From abuse to addiction, the second novel, Bad News opens as the twenty-two-year-old Patrick sets off to collect his fatherœs ashes from New York, where he will spend a drug-crazed twenty-four hours. And back in England, the third novel, Some Hope, offers a sober and clean Patrick the possibility of recovery. The fourth novel, the Booker-shortlisted Motherœs Milk, returns to the family chateau, where Patrick, now married and a father himself, struggles with child rearing, adultery, his motherœs desire for assisted suicide, and the loss of the family home to a New Age foundation. -- inside jacket.