The Benefactor

'Hilarious at times, sad too, and sometimes slightly shocking, the story grips from the beginning...The dialogue is sharp, and the changes in himself the young man experiences are both touching and realistic...This is a remarkable and sophisticated piece of writing for a young man in his early 20s. Sebastian Hampson is a writer to keep an eye open for.' * Otago Daily Times on The Train to Paris * `Sebastian Hampson...writes with an assurance that belies his years. A perceptive and thoughtful love story in the tradition of Brief Encounter, inspired by Hampson's travels in Europe, the novel is immediately engrossing. The reader is swept along by the fluidity of the writing.' * Australian on The Train to Paris * `This book will charm and engage.' * Books + Publishing on The Train to Paris * `Hampson's talent is obvious...once The Benefactor gets into its stride, the novel becomes a crisp characters study, where the actions and philosophies of the past are propelled towards an unexpected crisis.' * Dominion Post * `Sebastian Hampson's second novel is marked by expertise in style and structure...Accomplished and interesting.' * Sydney Morning Herald * `Sebastian Hampson keeps his focus, pares down the action and the feelings to a close study of Henry and Martha...At the same time the reader is treated to a glimpse of the high striders in Manhattan's art and fashion world from the 1980s to the present that make googling them an interactive pleasure. To be enjoyed with sparkling wine and Beluga caviar.' * Otago Daily Times * 'Sebastian Hampson is that rare thing: a writer of ideas who is also compulsively readable.' * Nicholas Edlin, author of The Widow's Daughter *