Publication due April 2025
Hardback, PRE-ORDER FOR ONLY £12.99 ISBN 978-1-917447-02-7 |
What possesses someone to claim asylum in his own country?Alex Donovan is a young refugee lawyer in crisis.
Helping desperate clients reach safety is what gives his job meaning. But he now finds himself demoted, signed off sick for stress, and facing redeployment to the firm’s subterranean billing department. Then there is Amy, the woman he adores. The irresistible junior barrister seems to be drifting away from him. With little to lose and all to prove, Alex dreams up a madcap plan to restore his honour and secure Amy’s affection. Praise for Sanctuary, the debut novel by Tom Gaisford‘Alex the human rights lawyer is one of the most vivid and compelling protagonists I've come across in ages. Sharp as tacks at work, fairly clueless when it comes to women, somehow he manages to be both rude and charming, cunning and gauche, cynical and romantic, all at the same time. Gaisford's insider knowledge makes his cleverly constructed legal thriller a compulsive and genuinely enlightening read. Alex's passionate hope is that a story can change the public's perception of asylum seekers. Maybe this one will.'
Suzi Feay, literary critic for The Guardian and The Financial Times, among others 'Tom Gaisford’s gripping novel explores an urgent subject – the UK’s inhumane treatment of asylum seekers…(it is) both affecting and memorable.’ Lucy Popescu, literary critic for multiple publications and Chair of the Author’s Club Best First Novel Award 'People have been moving around in search of a better life since time began, but few subjects generate gloomier air. Tom Gaisford‘s close knowledge of the law makes Sanctuary not just clever and gripping, but also heartfelt.' Robert Winder, author and former literary editor of The Independent ‘Every scenario was beautifully done whether amongst lawyers or asylum seekers, convincing and moving in some cases, and excellent and believable characters…I could not stop reading it...’ Rebecca Fraser, author and broadcaster 'Timely and hugely well-informed, Tom Gaisford’s debut novel shines a light on the UK’s asylum process and from inside brings us a novel that is ambitious, entertaining and amusing in equal parts.’ Peter Hanington, author and journalist ‘Very clever… ’ Anthony Gardner, author, journalist and founding editor of the Royal Society of Literature’s magazine RSL ‘Passionate and atmospheric, both as a love story and a ferocious drama set in the murky world of asylum policy and practice, written with deep insight, exciting twists and insolent good humour.’ Robert Bathurst, actor ‘I really loved this book, which is nothing if not original. Gaisford combines rich and humorous dialogue, beautifully filmic description, searching questions about our treatment of asylum-seekers, and a deftly-woven, romantically-charged plot, to create something truly unprecedented.’ Lorelei King, actress and award-winning audiobook narrator 
About the Author
Tom Gaisford is a barrister in the field of immigration and asylum law, and a freelance contributor to The Independent, The Tablet and Open Democracy. In 2021, he froze his practising certificate and moved with his young family to Guernsey, where he has since completed his first novel, SANCTUARY, and begun work on his second. Prior to law, Tom did a degree in History; an MSc in Human Rights; and spent a year at Salamanca University, where he studied Spanish literature, poetry and translation, and obtained the DELE, Diploma Superior. |
