Charles Elton was a director of the literary agency Curtis Brown before becoming an independent TV producer in 1991. In 2000 he joined ITV as executive producer in drama and left in 2010 when his bestselling first novel Mr Toppit, a Richard & Judy Book Club pick, was published. He lives in London and Somerset. The Songs is his second novel.
This is a truly wonderful novel - heartbreaking, funny, and such a painful dissection of family life it makes one wince This is an extraordinary debut, not only for its confident storytelling but for its nerdish familiarity with such an eclectic range of subjects ... Dark, funny... jangly with secrets * Sunday Times * Elton has an arch wit, an engaging style and a sense of invention that recalls Jonathan Coe's What a Carve Up! * Evening Standard on Mr Toppit * What begins as a robust comedy evolves into a dark, ironic family drama, a coming-of-age tale and an industry satire * Daily Mail * Mr Toppit is miles ahead of most debut novels and makes an engrossing, moving and perceptive read ... Quite a ride * The Times * A chillingly mingled hit of love, need and dread * Independent * A masterly tale of quiet torment * Sunday Telegraph * Partly Royal Tenenbaums-style saga of dysfunctional family... part coming-of-age tale ... and part satire on the iniquities of celebrity and hype * Observer * Poignant and engaging * Mail on Sunday *