An End and a Beginning is the final book in James Hanley's five novel sequence, The Furys. All five novels have been reissued in Faber Finds.

Young Peter Fury, confused by his mother's ambition for him, was driven to commit a crime for which he was sent to prison for fifteen years. The story opens with his release, and as Peter gropes his way back to normal life we learn the extraordinary circumstances of his past and observe his coming to terms with the future.

The Furys sequence is one of the great works of twentieth-century literature, but it has had to wait until now to be made available in its entirety.