Clare George's first novel, THE CLOUD CHAMBER, was described in The Observer as 'part spy story, part scientific thriller, part romance'. Based on the scientific discoveries behind the development of the atomic bomb, it drew on her own family history as the daughter and granddaughter of nuclear physicists.

Her second novel, THE EVANGELIST, is about a popular scientist who finds it impossible to believe that he is ever wrong, and was published by Sceptre in January 2005. She is currently working on a third novel about a female Russian cosmonaut.

Born in Dorset in 1969, Clare had a rural childhood in Essex, Kent and Cheshire before finally making it to London, where she lives in Hackney with her husband. She has an English degree from Oxford University and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, and has had spells working as a bank manager, a marketing strategist and a professional chef.

Praise for THE CLOUD CHAMBER:

'A novel of ideas which reads like a thriller' - The Observer

'This absorbing, ambitious debut ... has a gift for probing crises of conscience, for the cold, private moments that accompany what President Truman called "a rain of ruin" - The Guardian

'A character-driven novel of science ... It can only be the start of a brilliant writing career' - The Melbourne Age

'A clever and graceful novel ... an ambitious account of scientific enquiry, a spy story and an exploration of the morality of mass destruction' - Time Out

photo: Chris O'Reilly

I AM NOT AN EVANGELIST. I AM JUST A MAN IN SEARCH OF THE TRUTH.

Truth is the touchstone of Max Oldroyd’s world. When he was a young man, he pursued it with all the vigour of his rebellious spirit. It brought him the love of a good woman, the joys of a happy family life and fame as a scientific populariser who revealed the wonders of evolution to ordinary people. Even now, as he enters an embattled middle age, he still believes that the uncompromising beauty of truth is worth whatever pain his enemies might try to inflict.

So when a journalist writes a profile depicting him as a lonely failure whose rage against religion has robbed him of love, family and even reason, he determines to tell his version of events – and to discover who has betrayed the details of his private life. But as he delves further into the facts that constitute his own history, he discovers that the truth is far more elusive than he ever imagined.

This is the story of one man’s obsession and its impact on the family he loves. A charismatic, passionate champion of reason and science against unquestioning faith, or a self absorbed, blinkered zealot? There are no easy answers in this wise and compassionate novel, shot through with wry humour and informed by a profound understanding of human nature.