By the author of Black Narcissus and The River '[Godden's] distinctive, poised and unsentimental books have never lost a shred of their almost hypnotic appeal' ROSIE THOMAS, GUARDIAN 'One of our best and most captivating novelists' PHILIP HENSHER '[Godden has] a genius for storytelling' EVENING STANDARD 'All horses can walk… Read More
The re-dipping of dishes was a small matter, but the emotional texture of married life is made up of small matters. This one had become invested with a fatal quality. Imogen, the beautiful and much younger wife of distinguished barrister Evelyn Gresham, is facing the greatest challenge of her married… Read More
I can't help it. Sometimes the words just come out and I can't stop them. It feels like preaching the gospel. When publishing assistant and war widow Nancy Hawkins tells Hector Bartlett he 'urinates frightful prose', the repercussions are swift. Losing not one, but two, much-sought-after literary jobs, Mrs Hawkins… Read More
INTRODUCED BY ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH 'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' RICHARD OSMAN Mildred Lathbury is one of those excellent women who are often taken for granted. She is a godsend, 'capable of dealing with most of the stock situations or even the great moments of life - birth,… Read More
'Gibbons is superb on middle class life' SAM JORDISON, GUARDIAN 'A sharp-edged romantic comedy, we have a chance to see what we've been missing' DAILY MAIL 'What luxury to stumble upon this quirky book, and the fascinating modern woman who wrote it' SOPHIE DAHL Life is not quite a fairytale… Read More
One of the most enchanting books about cats ever written, Minka and Curdy describes the adventures - and misadventures - of two very different kittens. Victoria, a real tyrant of a cat, spent so many years training her owner to be the ideal hostess that Mrs Bell feels it would… Read More
'Timeless' HELEN MOORE, DAILY EXPRESS 'I try to get every girly girl to read this one because those four sisters are so real. Everybody's favourite is Jo, the tomboy who wants to be a writer' JACQUELINE WILSON 'I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail… Read More
40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION, WITH A FOREWORD BY STANLEY TUCCI 'I have bought more copies of this book to give to people, in a frenzy of enthusiasm, than any other . . . Heartburn is the perfect, bittersweet, sobbingly funny, all-too-true confessional novel' NIGELLA LAWSON 'I kept a copy of Nora… Read More
INTRODUCED BY ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH 'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' RICHARD OSMAN Mildred Lathbury is one of those excellent women who are often taken for granted. She is a godsend, 'capable of dealing with most of the stock situations or even the great moments of life - birth,… Read More
'Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont is, for me, her masterpiece' - Robert McCrum, Guardian, 'The Best 100 Novels' 'An author of great subtlety, great compassion and great depth' - SARAH WATERS 'Jane Austen, Elizabeth Taylor, Elizabath Bowen - soul-sisters all' ANNE TYLER On a rainy Sunday in January, the recently… Read More
'One of the best novels about growing up fast' GUARDIAN 'One falls for Sally Jay Gorce from a great height from the first sentence' OBSERVER 'Scandalous and entertaining . . . Both funny and true' EVENING STANDARD The Dud Avocado gained instant cult status on first publication and remains a… Read More
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER from the beloved star of Gilmore Girls 'Insightful, honest, funny, and moving' BUZZFEED 'Candid, genuine and as per usual hilarious ... A treat' GLAMOUR 'Graham is fast and furiously funny' E! ONLINE Lauren Graham has graced countless television screens with her quick-witted characters and hilarious… Read More
'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 Toksvig Miriam Birdseye is daring, brilliant -… Read More
