Crusaders

In 1996, just before the rise of New Labour, Reverend Gore returns to his native Newcastle charged with planting a new church in one of the city's rougher estates. As he settles into the local community, he becomes involved with Stevie, a local 'security consultant', Lindy, a street-wise single mother, and Martin, an ambitious local Labour MP. But these relationships draw Gore into a moral crisis in this extraordinary debut novel, driven by sharp social observation, darkly desperate humour and an undercurrent of impending violence.



Richard T. Kelly was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1970, and grew up in Northern Ireland. He has authored three acclaimed 'oral history' books on film and filmmakers for Faber: Alan Clarke (1998), The Name of This Book is Dogme 95 (2000), and the authorised biography Sean Penn: His Life and Times (2004). In 2000 he wrote and presented the Channel 4 documentary The Name of This Film is Dogme 95. Crusaders is his first novel.