Description
Book SynopsisThe dazzling collection of stories from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Free Love and Late in the Day.
**WINNER OF THE EDGE HILL SHORT STORY PRIZE**
Two sisters quarrel over an inheritance and a new baby. A housekeeper caring for a helpless old man uncovers secrets from his past. A young girl accepts a lift in a car with a group of strangers. An old friend brings bad news to a dinner party.
In these gripping and unsettling stories, the ordinary is made extraordinary and the real things that happen to people turn out to be every bit as mysterious as their dreams.
'These well-turned, exceptionally nuanced pieces are solidly evocative of place, period...and sensory detail' Sunday Times
'Few writers give me such consistent pleasure' Zadie Smith
Trade ReviewFew writers give me such consistent pleasure. * Zadie Smith *
Tessa Hadley has become one of this country’s great contemporary novelists ... possessed of a psychological subtlety reminiscent of Henry James, and an ironic beadiness worthy of Jane Austen * Guardian *
One of Britain’s finest writers… Hadley’s clear-sighted observations about people’s foibles and her ability to whip up an atmosphere with only a tent pole and a pair of furry handcuffs is something to behold. * The Times *
Hadley is a writer whose reputation grows with every book…
This new collection of short stories reconfirms her remarkable talent… Hadley excels at both genres, brilliant at conveying emotion and with an uncanny ability to get under her character’s skin…
These stories brim with a keen intelligence and linger in the mind long after you close the book. -- Sebastian Shakespeare * Tatler *
[It is] lapidary,
full of the most gorgeous sentences and brilliant observations. -- Alex Preston * Observer, 2017 Books of the Year *
