The River Running By – Charles Gidley

Description

The River Running By by Charles Gidley is a sweeping, character-driven family saga set against the backdrop of Oporto’s wealthy British wine trade community. Bobby Teape seems to have it all — a thriving port wine business, social standing, and a promising life in Portugal. But the sudden appearance of a son he never knew he had shatters the illusion of control and forces him to confront a past affair with the beautiful Natalia.

Bobby’s wife Ruth battles her own ghosts, struggling in a marriage shadowed by betrayal and unspoken regrets about the man she truly loved. Meanwhile, their daughter Stella — rebellious, brilliant, and defiant — embodies the spirit of the 1960s. In her quest for freedom, passion, and meaning, Stella faces a tragic inner conflict that no relationship can resolve.

A compelling, multi-layered novel of secrets, desire, and generational tensions, The River Running By offers a richly atmospheric glimpse into love and loss within a family bound by history and haunted by their choices.