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Sankofa: 'A fantastic novel about a woman's search for her identity' SEFI ATTA
by Chibundu OnuzoA funny, gripping and surprising story of a mixed-race British woman who goes in search of the West African father she never knew, by award-winning author Chibundu Onuzo.'A fantastic novel about a woman's search for her personal, familial and national identity' SEFI ATTA'Utterly compelling' STYLISTAnna grew up in England with her white mother and knowing very little about her West African father. In middle age, after separating from her husband and with her daughter all grown up, she finds herself alone and wondering who she really is. Her mother's death leads her to find her father's student diaries, chronicling his involvement in radical politics in 1970s London. She discovers that he eventually became the president - some would say the dictator - of Bamana in West Africa. And he is still alive. She decides to track him down and so begins a funny, painful, fascinating journey, and an exploration of race, identity and what we pass on to our children.'Slick pacing and unpredictable developments keep the reader alert right up to the novel's exhilarating ending' GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE DAY'Wonderful. Poignant and powerful and so timely and the beautiful ending had me in tears, reminding me to look within as well as without for my answers' STELLA DUFFY'A hugely compelling novel about identity and the stories we tell about ourselves' ANNA JAMES'A disarmingly moving, surprisingly hilarious and fascinating journey' STYLIST
The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames: A Foundling's Story
by Justine CowanA gripping memoir and revelatory investigation into the history of the Foundling Hospital and one girl who grew up in its care - the author's own mother.'Extraordinary ... A fascinating, moving book: part history of the Foundling Hospital and the development of child psychology, part Cowan's own story, and part that of Cowan's mother' LUCY SCHOLES, TELEGRAPH Growing up in a wealthy enclave outside San Francisco, Justine Cowan's life seems idyllic. But her mother's unpredictable temper drives Justine from home the moment she is old enough to escape. It is only after her mother dies that she finds herself pulling at the threads of a story half-told - her mother's upbringing in London's Foundling Hospital. Haunted by this secret history, Justine travels across the sea and deep into the past to discover the girl her mother once was.Here, with the vividness of a true storyteller, she pieces together her mother's childhood alongside the history of the Foundling Hospital: from its idealistic beginnings in the eighteenth century, how it influenced some of England's greatest creative minds - from Handel to Dickens, its shocking approach to childcare and how it survived the Blitz only to close after the Second World War.This was the environment that shaped a young girl then known as Dorothy Soames, who was left behind by a mother forced by stigma and shame to give up her child; who withstood years of physical and emotional abuse, dreaming ofescape as German bombers circled the skies, unaware all along that her own mother was fighting to get her back.'As a social history of the Foundling Hospital, this is a fascinating read' SUNDAY TIMES'Page-turning and profoundly moving' VIRGINIA NICHOLSON'A gripping true story' Christina Baker Kline, bestselling author of ORPHAN TRAIN'Breathtaking' Adrienne Brodeur, bestselling author of WILD GAME
The Times I Knew I Was Gay: A Graphic Memoir 'for everyone. Candid, authentic and utterly charming' Sarah Waters
by Eleanor Crewes'It's for everyone. Candid, authentic and utterly charming' Sarah Waters, author of Tipping the Velvet'Funny and super relatable' Alice Oseman, author of HeartstopperA tender and funny graphic memoir about identity, love and Willow from BuffyEllie always knew she was different. Contrary and creative, she wore black, obsessed over Willow in Buffy and somehow never really liked boys. As she grew, so did her fears and a deep sense of unbelonging. From her first communion to her first girlfriend via a swathe of self-denial, awkward encounters and everyday courage, Ellie's journey is told through tender and funny illustrations - a self-portrait sketched out from the heart.The Times I Knew I Was Gay reminds us that sexuality is not often determined by falling in love with others, but by coming to terms with oneself; that people must come out not just once but again and again. Full of vitality and love, it will ring true for anyone who took time to discover who they truly are.
The Narrows: A Novel (Virago Modern Classics #798)
by Ann PetryBY THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE STREETWith a new introduction by Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of Libertie'Petry is the writer we have been waiting for, hers are the stories we need to fully illuminate the questions of our moment, while also offering a page-turning good time' Tayari Jones'Her work endures not only because it illuminates reality, but because it harnesses the power of fiction to supplant it' Parul Sehgal, New York TimesLink Williams is a handsome, brilliant Dartmouth graduate whose promise is unfulfilled; because of the lack of opportunities for a young Black man, he tends bar in his New England town. The routine of his life is interrupted when he intervenes to save a woman from a late-night attack. The thick fog rolls in from the river, and it is only when the couple enters a bar that the couple can see each other. And it is as if the if the oxygen has left the room: Camilo is a wealthy, white married heiress, who has crossed the town's racial divide to relieve the tedium of her life. Brought together by chance, Link and Camilo draw each other into furtive encounters that violate the rigid and uncompromising social codes of their times.
The Unpassing: A Novel
by Chia-Chia LinA major US debut novel in 2019Shortlisted for the Centre for Fiction First Novel PrizeA New York Times Book Review Editors' ChoiceIn Chia-Chia Lin's piercing debut novel, The Unpassing, we meet a Taiwanese immigrant family of six struggling to make ends meet on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska. The father, hardworking but beaten down, is employed as a plumber and contractor, while the loving, strong-willed, unpredictably emotional mother holds the house together. When ten-year-old Gavin contracts meningitis at school, he falls into a deep, nearly fatal coma. He wakes a week later to learn that his younger sister, Ruby, was infected too. She did not survive.Routine takes over for the grieving family, with the siblings caring for one another as they befriend the neighbouring children and explore the surrounding woods, while distance grows between the parents as each deals with the loss alone. When the father, increasingly guilt-ridden after Ruby's death, is sued over an improperly installed water well that gravely harms a little boy, the chaos that follows unearths what really happened to Ruby.With flowing prose that evokes the terrifying beauty of the Alaskan wilderness, Chia-Chia Lin explores the fallout from the loss of a child and a family's anguish playing out in a place that doesn't yet feel like home. Emotionally raw and subtly suspenseful, The Unpassing is a deeply felt family saga that dismisses the myth of the American dream for a harsher, but ultimately profound, reality.'A singularly vast and captivating novel, beautifully written in free-flowing prose that quietly disarms with its intermittent moments of poetic idiosyncrasy' New York Times Book Review 'A striking debut by an unforgettable new voice' Cosmopolitan
Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (as told to me) Story
by Bess Kalb**I HAVE NOT BEEN AS PROFOUNDLY MOVED BY A BOOK IN YEARS' JODI PICOULT****I LOVED THIS BOOK MORE THAN I CAN SAY**NIGELLA LAWSONA brilliantly original memoir of a grandmother speaking to her granddaughter from beyond the grave, telling the story of her life with hilarious candor and love.Bess Kalb has saved every voicemail message her grandmother - her best friend, her confidante - ever left her until the day she died.In this wildly imaginative memoir, Bobby Bell's voice is still in Bess's head. Stubborn, glamorous, larger than life, she gives Bess critical advice on everything and tells the history that made them both. Beginning with her mother's escape from the pogroms of Belarus in the 1880s to the rambunctiously cramped Brooklyn apartment where Bobby was born, it swings through her loving marriage, blazes over the rebellious youth of her daughter and finally - falls madly in love with her granddaughter, Bess. Nobody Will Tell You This But Me are the truths - full of devotion, killer instincts and hard-won experience - that Bess's grandmother tells even when they hurt - and even though she's gone.This unusual love story celebrates the bond of women across generations and the personalities that live on through grief and love. Told through documents, photographs, and verbatim dialogue, it's a memoir like none you've ever read before.
The Rachel Incident: 2023's most anticipated summer read - a hilarious, heartfelt story of unexpected love from the bestselling author
by Caroline O'Donoghue*2023's MOST ANTICIPATED SUMMER READ*'Funny, nostalgic, sexy ... it's everything I want in a summer book' MONICA HEISEY'You will love The Rachel Incident' GABRIELLE ZEVIN, author of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow'Funny, lovely, romantic, drenched in nostalgia' MARIAN KEYES___________________________________________ The Rachel Incident is an all-consuming love story. But it's not the one you're expecting. It's unconventional and messy. It's young and foolish. It's about losing and finding yourself. But it is always about love. When Rachel falls in love with her married professor, Dr Byrne, her best friend James helps her devise a plan to seduce him. But what begins as a harmless crush soon pushes their friendship to its limits. Over the course of a year they will find their lives ever more entwined with the Byrnes' and be faced with impossible choices and a lie that can't be taken back...'Perfectly captures the intensity and high and lows of first love, and it's also very, very funny' RED MAGAZINE'Chaos at its finest' STYLIST ___________________________________________________________Early readers are falling in love with The Rachel Incident:'Her best book yet - this is going to be huge' READER REVIEW'A triumph of a novel' READER REVIEW'Extremely witty, charming and humorous' READER REVIEW'Perfection. I want to delete it from my brain so I can read it for the first time again' READER REVIEW'Delightfully addictive' READER REVIEW'Big-hearted, witty and expertly crafted' - SLOANE CROSLEY, author of Cult Classic 'Hilarious' - ANNIE LORD, author of Notes on Heartbreak 'Funny, poignant, heart-breaking' - BARBARA TRAPIDO, author of Brother of the More Famous Jack 'I really loved this book' - EMER MCLYSAGHT, author of Oh My God What a Complete Aisling 'Absorbing and funny and honest and horny' LIZZIE HUXLEY-JONES, author of Make You Mine This Christmas
Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold
by Kirsty Logan Eimear McBride Natasha Carthew Imogen Hermes Gowar Mahsuda Snaith Daisy Johnson Emma Glass Naomi Booth Irenosen Okojie Liv Little'Engaging, modern fables with a feminist tang' Sunday TimesDARK, POTENT AND UNCANNY, HAG BURSTS WITH THE UNTOLD STORIES OF OUR ISLES, CAPTURED IN VOICES AS VARIED AS THEY ARE VIVID.Here are sisters fighting for the love of the same woman, a pregnant archaeologist unearthing impossible bones and lost children following you home. A panther runs through the forests of England and pixies prey upon violent men.From the islands of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall, the mountains of Galway to the depths of the Fens, these forgotten folktales howl, cackle and sing their way into the 21st century, wildly reimagined by some of the most exciting women writing in Britain and Ireland today. 'A thoroughly original package that has a hint of Angela Carter' The Times'Sharp writing and cleverly done' Spectator
Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold
by Kirsty Logan Eimear McBride Natasha Carthew Imogen Hermes Gowar Mahsuda Snaith Daisy Johnson Emma Glass Naomi Booth Irenosen Okojie Liv Little'Engaging, modern fables with a feminist tang' Sunday TimesDARK, POTENT AND UNCANNY, HAG BURSTS WITH THE UNTOLD STORIES OF OUR ISLES, CAPTURED IN VOICES AS VARIED AS THEY ARE VIVID.Here are sisters fighting for the love of the same woman, a pregnant archaeologist unearthing impossible bones and lost children following you home. A panther runs through the forests of England and pixies prey upon violent men.From the islands of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall, the mountains of Galway to the depths of the Fens, these forgotten folktales howl, cackle and sing their way into the 21st century, wildly reimagined by some of the most exciting women writing in Britain and Ireland today. 'A thoroughly original package that has a hint of Angela Carter' The Times'Sharp writing and cleverly done' Spectator
What Are You Going Through: 'A total joy - and laugh-out-loud funny' DEBORAH MOGGACH
by Sigrid Nunez**THE BRAND-NEW NOVEL BY THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER** A woman visits a friend with terminal cancer. Brilliant, strong-willed and alone, the friend, facing death, makes a momentous request. Will she accompany her on a holiday where she will, without warning one day, take a lethal pill to end her life on her own terms?Shaken and grieving, she finds the strength to agree. What follows is an extraordinary story - profound, surprising and often funny - of a lifelong friendship given the ultimate challenge; to witness its end. Utterly of our moment and timeless, What Are You Going Through is a deeply moving affirmation of life in its current existential threat and in its ordinary tragedies - the loss, loneliness, and the love that yet survives.
Exhibit
by R. O. KwonFrom bestselling author R. O. Kwon, a powerful, blazing-hot novel about a woman caught between her desires and her life.'Haunting and powerful' Madeline Miller'Brisk, jolting, brilliant, beautiful, true' Andrew Sean Greer'I tore through this' Raven Leilani, author of Luster At a lavish party in the hills outside of San Francisco, Jin Han meets Lidija Jung and nothing will ever be the same for either woman. A brilliant young photographer, Jin is at a crossroads in her work, in her marriage to her college love Phillip, and in who she is and who she wants to be. Lidija is an alluring, injured world-class ballerina on hiatus from her ballet company under mysterious circumstances. Drawn to each other by their intense artistic drives, the two women talk all night. Cracked open, Jin finds herself telling Lidija about an old familial curse, breaking a lifelong promise. She's been told that if she doesn't keep the curse a secret, she risks losing everything; death and ruin could lie ahead. As Jin and Lidija become more entangled, they realize they share more than the ferocity of their ambition, and begin to explore hidden desires. Something is ignited in Jin: her art, her body, and her sense of self irrevocably changed. But can she avoid the specter of the curse? Urgent, bold, and deeply moving, this novel asks: how brightly can you burn before you light your life on fire?
Surrogate: 'An absolute belter of a page-turner' HEAT
by Susan Spindler'An absolute belter of a page-turner' HEAT'Kept me reading late into the night' DAILY MAIL'Clever and compelling. I loved it' JANE SHEMILTTHERE'S NOTHING LIKE A MOTHER'S LOVE...Ruth Furnival has built the life she always dreamed of: a stellar career in television, a lovely home, a lawyer husband and two grown-up daughters. But at 54, with an empty nest and the menopause behind her, she feels restless and dissatisfied.After multiple rounds of failed IVF, her elder daughter Lauren is told that the only way she and her husband can have a child of their own is through surrogacy. So when Ruth discovers that, with the right dose of hormones, she could carry their baby, they agree out of desperation.At first Ruth is buoyed by a new sense of purpose, but as her pregnancy progresses, long-buried events from the past resurface. Meanwhile Lauren can't contain her corrosive envy. Isolated and alone, Ruth starts to unravel and what began as an act of altruism turns into one of atonement - for which she's willing to risk everything.'A fantastic book club choice...well-researched and compelling' PRIMA'A gripping read on an under-discussed topic for fans of Apple Tree Yard' COSMOPOLITAN'A brilliantly structured, fast-paced and addictively compelling read. I loved the ending most of all' RACHEL JOYCE'Already tipped as one of the most gripping reads of the year' HELLO!'An absolute "up-all-night" compulsive read' KATE HAMER'A gripping exploration of femininity and motherhood' BEST'Moving and exciting and moral - immensely intelligent' TESSA HADLEY
Easy Beauty
by Chloé Cooper Jones'BOLD, HONEST AND SUPERBLY WELL-WRITTEN' ANDRÉ ACIMAN, AUTHOR OF CALL ME BY YOUR NAME'GRACEFUL AND SOUL-BARING' MELANIE REID, THE TIMES'WHAT A GIFT . . . HAS THE RIGOR AND PRECISION OF JOAN DIDION AND MAGGIE NELSON AND A FORTHRIGHT HUMOR AND NAKED TRUTH ALL OF ITS OWN.' SARAH RUHL, AUTHOR OF SMILEI am in a bar in Brooklyn listening to two men, my friends, discuss whether or not my life was worth living.So begins Chloé Cooper Jones's bold account of moving through the world in a body that looks different than most. Born with a rare congenital condition called sacral agenesis, she must contend not only with her own physical pain, but the emotional discomfort of others.It is only when she unexpectedly becomes a mother that she confronts the demand to live life fully, propelling her on a journey across the globe, reclaiming the spaces she'd been denied, and denied herself.From Roman sculptures to a Beyoncé concert, from a tennis tournament to the Cambodian Killing Fields, Jones interrogates the myths of beauty with spiky intelligence, aesthetic philosophy, love and humor, inviting us to find a new way of seeing.
Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up
by Selma BlairSelma Blair has played many archetypal roles: gullible ingenue in Cruel Intentions. Preppy ice queen in Legally Blonde. Fire-starter in Hellboy. Muse to Karl Lagerfeld. Face of Chanel. Cover model. Advocate for the multiple sclerosis community. But before all of that, Selma was known best for being one thing: a mean baby. In a memoir that is as wildly funny as it is emotionally shattering, Selma Blair tells the captivating story of growing up and finding her truth. The first story Selma Blair Beitner ever heard about herself is that she was a mean, mean baby. With her mouth pulled in a perpetual snarl and a head so furry it had to be rubbed to make way for her forehead, Selma spent years living up to her terrible reputation: biting her sisters, lying spontaneously, getting drunk from Passover wine at the age of seven, and behaving dramatically so that she would be the center of attention. Although Selma went on to become a celebrated Hollywood actress and model, she could never quite shake the periods of darkness that overtook her, the certainty that there was a great mystery at the heart of her life. She often felt like her arms might be on fire, a sensation not unlike electric shocks, and she secretly drank to escape. Over the course of this beautiful and, at times, shocking memoir, Selma lays bare her addiction to alcohol, her devotion to her brilliant and complicated mother, and the moments she flirted with death. There is brutal violence, passionate love, true friendship, the gift of motherhood and, finally, the simultaneous devastation and surprising salvation of a multiple sclerosis diagnosis. In a voice that is powerfully original, fiercely intelligent, and full of hard-won wisdom, Selma Blair's Mean Baby is a deeply human memoir and a true literary achievement.
Your Planet Needs You!: An everyday guide to saving the earth
by Bernadette Vallely Amy Charuy-Hughes Bethan Stewart JamesIf there was ever a time to stand up for your planet, for Mother Earth, this is the time. But what are the most pressing environmental issues affecting us today? And what actions can you, as an individual, take to combat them? If you want to know what you can do, then this is the book for you. Your Planet Needs You is the essential beginner's guide to understanding the environment and the threats to its wellbeing. From plastic waste to pesticides, food production and chemicals, global warming to species extinction, this book covers the topics that you need to know about.With practical and positive tips, this book will show how you can be part of the solution and help make a better world, whatever age you are.Includes sections on air pollution, environmental law, fast fashion and ethical living, as well as resources such as recommended reading and lists of groups and organisations that you can get involved with.
The Tick of Two Clocks: A Tale of Moving On
by Joan BakewellOld age is no longer a blip in the calendar, just a few declining years before the end. Old age is now a major and important part of life: It should command as much thought - even anxiety - as teenagers give to exam results and young marrieds how many children to have . . . I am in my 80s and moving towards the end of my life. But in a more actual sense, I have moved from my dear home of 50 odd years into another . . . the home where I will be until the end. Writing here of how it has happened is in a sense a reconciliation with what cannot be avoided, but which can be confrontedWhen Joan Bakewell, Labour Peer, author and famous champion of the older people's right to a good and fruitful life, decided that she could no longer remain in her old home, she had to confront what she calls 'the next segment of life.' Disposing of things accumulated during a long life, saying goodbye to her home and the memories of more than fifty years, thinking about what is needed for downsizing - all suddenly became urgent and emotional tasks. And then there was managing family expectations. Some new projects such as planning the colours and layout of a new, smaller flat, were exciting and some things - the ridding herself of books, paintings, memento - took courage. So much of the world is on the move- voluntarily or not - and so many people are living to a great old age. In using the tale of her own life , Joan Bakewell tells us a story of our times and how she is learning to live to the sound and tune of The Tick of Two Clocks: the old and the new.
Death Goes on Skis: Introduced by Sandi Toksvig - 'Her detective novels are hilarious' (Virago Modern Classics #800)
by Nancy Spain'Her detective novels are hilarious - less about detecting than delighting, with absurd farce and a wonderful turn of phrase . . . Nancy Spain was bold, she was brave, she was funny, she was feisty. I owe her a great deal' Sandi ToksvigMiriam Birdseye is daring, brilliant - and a long way from The Ivy. Our dashing heroine, a famous revue artist, takes to the slopes with her coterie of admirers. Champagne flows and wherever Miriam goes she leaves a trail of gossip in her wake.Fellow ski-resort guests include the celebrated Russian ex-ballerina, Natasha Nevkorina, whose beauty is matched only by her languor, Natasha's burly husband, nightclub owner Johnny DuVivien, and the wealthy Flahertés, a family who have made their money importing scents: handsome playboy Barney, his wife Regan, their two obnoxious children and the governess, Rosalie. Unbeknownst to Regan, Barney's mistress, a film star, is also there with her husband.When secrets start to unravel, tensions rise, and soon amateur sleuths Miriam and Natasha have not one but two murders to solve. In the hands of Nancy Spain, for whom farce and humour are a lot more fun than a conventional detective novel, the result is a deliciously wild ride.'An either intense or sombre approach to crime is to Miss Spain foreign: in her world an inspired craziness rules . . . Her wit, her zest, her outrageousness, and the colloquial stylishness of her writing are quite her own' Elizabeth Bowen
Death Goes on Skis: Introduced by Sandi Toksvig - 'Her detective novels are hilarious'
by Nancy Spain'Her detective novels are hilarious - less about detecting than delighting, with absurd farce and a wonderful turn of phrase . . . Nancy Spain was bold, she was brave, she was funny, she was feisty. I owe her a great deal' Sandi ToksvigMiriam Birdseye is daring, brilliant - and a long way from The Ivy. Our dashing heroine, a famous revue artist, takes to the slopes with her coterie of admirers. Champagne flows and wherever Miriam goes she leaves a trail of gossip in her wake.Fellow ski-resort guests include the celebrated Russian ex-ballerina, Natasha Nevkorina, whose beauty is matched only by her languor, Natasha's burly husband, nightclub owner Johnny DuVivien, and the wealthy Flahertés, a family who have made their money importing scents: handsome playboy Barney, his wife Regan, their two obnoxious children and the governess, Rosalie. Unbeknownst to Regan, Barney's mistress, a film star, is also there with her husband.When secrets start to unravel, tensions rise, and soon amateur sleuths Miriam and Natasha have not one but two murders to solve. In the hands of Nancy Spain, for whom farce and humour are a lot more fun than a conventional detective novel, the result is a deliciously wild ride.'An either intense or sombre approach to crime is to Miss Spain foreign: in her world an inspired craziness rules . . . Her wit, her zest, her outrageousness, and the colloquial stylishness of her writing are quite her own' Elizabeth Bowen
Poison for Teacher (Virago Modern Classics #801)
by Nancy Spain'Her detective novels are hilarious - less about detecting than delighting, with absurd farce and a wonderful turn of phrase . . . Nancy Spain was bold, she was brave, she was funny, she was feisty' SANDI TOKSVIGMiriam Birdseye, ex-revue star and now professional sleuth, is intrigued when the headmistress of Radcliff Hall arrives at her Baker Street detective agency. A series of bizarre stunts that at first seemed like pranks have taken a sinister turn, and since Mis Lipscoomb found her gym rope half sawn through, she's begun to fear not only for her school, but for her life.This is how Miriam and her friend, Russian ballerina Natasha Nevkorina, find themselves on board the train to a Sussex girls' school, in the unlikely guise of teachers. Before long the detective duo uncovers a blackmail plot, infidelity and a dizzying array of school schisms. And then a teacher is poisoned during the school play; can they discover the culprit before the body count rises?From the pen of Nancy Spain, for whom farce and humour are a lot more fun than a conventional detective novel, the result is a deliciously wild ride.'An either intense or sombre approach to crime is to Miss Spain foreign: in her world an inspired craziness rules . . . Her wit, her zest, her outrageousness, and the colloquial stylishness of her writing are quite her own'Elizabeth Bowen
Poison for Teacher
by Nancy Spain'Her detective novels are hilarious - less about detecting than delighting, with absurd farce and a wonderful turn of phrase . . . Nancy Spain was bold, she was brave, she was funny, she was feisty' SANDI TOKSVIGMiriam Birdseye, ex-revue star and now professional sleuth, is intrigued when the headmistress of Radcliff Hall arrives at her Baker Street detective agency. A series of bizarre stunts that at first seemed like pranks have taken a sinister turn, and since Mis Lipscoomb found her gym rope half sawn through, she's begun to fear not only for her school, but for her life.This is how Miriam and her friend, Russian ballerina Natasha Nevkorina, find themselves on board the train to a Sussex girls' school, in the unlikely guise of teachers. Before long the detective duo uncovers a blackmail plot, infidelity and a dizzying array of school schisms. And then a teacher is poisoned during the school play; can they discover the culprit before the body count rises?From the pen of Nancy Spain, for whom farce and humour are a lot more fun than a conventional detective novel, the result is a deliciously wild ride.'An either intense or sombre approach to crime is to Miss Spain foreign: in her world an inspired craziness rules . . . Her wit, her zest, her outrageousness, and the colloquial stylishness of her writing are quite her own'Elizabeth Bowen
Cinderella Goes to the Morgue
by Nancy Spain'Her detective novels are hilarious - less about detecting than delighting, with absurd farce and a wonderful turn of phrase . . . Nancy Spain was bold, she was brave, she was funny, she was feisty. I owe her a great deal' Sandi ToksvigWhen Prince Charming is murdered and the principal dancer hits the bottle, amateur sleuths Miriam Birdseye and Natasha Nevkorina come to the rescue. Sacrificing their Christmas plans for the sake of art and detecting, they join the pantomime. As ex-thespians, they know the show must go on - though the cast shrinks with each rehearsal. Can the indomitable detective duo discover the murderer before the final curtain falls?Fast paced and festive, this comic crime classic from Nancy Spain will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Cinderella Goes to the Morgue (Virago Modern Classics #802)
by Nancy Spain'Her detective novels are hilarious - less about detecting than delighting, with absurd farce and a wonderful turn of phrase . . . Nancy Spain was bold, she was brave, she was funny, she was feisty. I owe her a great deal' Sandi ToksvigWhen Prince Charming is murdered and the principal dancer hits the bottle, amateur sleuths Miriam Birdseye and Natasha Nevkorina come to the rescue. Sacrificing their Christmas plans for the sake of art and detecting, they join the pantomime. As ex-thespians, they know the show must go on - though the cast shrinks with each rehearsal. Can the indomitable detective duo discover the murderer before the final curtain falls?Fast paced and festive, this comic crime classic from Nancy Spain will keep you on the edge of your seat.
R in the Month (Virago Modern Classics #803)
by Nancy Spain* 'Ever since reading R in the Month as a teenager, I've been a Nancy Spain fan. I love her juxtaposition of seedy, atmospheric settings with humour and showbiz glamour. There's still no one quite like her' ELLY GRIFFITHSThe oyster party had the kiss of death upon it - even though there were two 'R's in the month. Miriam Birdseye - famed revue star and sleuth - could have told you that from the start. She isn't a bit surprised to learn that her fiance's mother died in the night.But who at the seedy Sussex hotel would have poisoned the bivalves? Could it be the hotel proprietor - a handsome, drunken bankrupt? His put-upon wife? Miriam's impressively moustachioed fiancé? Or the menacing, unsavoury chef?Can Miriam track down the killer before anyone else is murdered by mollusc?* 'Her detective novels are hilarious - less about detecting than delighting, with absurd farce and a wonderful turn of phrase' SANDI TOKSVIG
R in the Month (Virago Modern Classics #803)
by Nancy Spain* 'Ever since reading R in the Month as a teenager, I've been a Nancy Spain fan. I love her juxtaposition of seedy, atmospheric settings with humour and showbiz glamour. There's still no one quite like her' ELLY GRIFFITHSThe oyster party had the kiss of death upon it - even though there were two 'R's in the month. Miriam Birdseye - famed revue star and sleuth - could have told you that from the start. She isn't a bit surprised to learn that her fiance's mother died in the night.But who at the seedy Sussex hotel would have poisoned the bivalves? Could it be the hotel proprietor - a handsome, drunken bankrupt? His put-upon wife? Miriam's impressively moustachioed fiancé? Or the menacing, unsavoury chef?Can Miriam track down the killer before anyone else is murdered by mollusc?* 'Her detective novels are hilarious - less about detecting than delighting, with absurd farce and a wonderful turn of phrase' SANDI TOKSVIG
What Are You Going Through: 'A total joy - and laugh-out-loud funny' DEBORAH MOGGACH
by Sigrid Nunez'I was totally overwhelmed by this extraordinary novel. A total joy - and laugh-out-loud funny' DEBORAH MOGGACHThe New York Times-bestselling, National Book Award-winning author of THE FRIEND brings her singular voice to a story about the meaning of life and death, and the value of companionship. The woman at the heart of this extraordinary novel finds that everyone she meets has a common need: the urge to talk about themselves and to have an audience for their experiences. And so she tries to pay attention, to imagine and listen to what those around her are going through. But then an old friend makes an extraordinary request and draws her into an intense and transformative experience of her own.'I just adore Sigrid Nunez' PAULA HAWKINS'Brilliant. I loved it as much as The Friend' SUSIE STEINER'When I open one of [Sigrid Nunez's] novels, I almost always know immediately: This is where I want to be ... As good as The Friend, if not better' NEW YORK TIMES'A true pleasure to read, a novel bursting with wit, warmth, and human empathy' INDEPENDENT'Brilliant ... The narrative control of this novel simply dazzles' SPECTATOR