Description
Loosely based on Drabble's own experiences, a compelling, beautifully written novel following three generations of women in one family
One of the more absorbing novels I have read in a long time, both for its sheer storytelling ability and for its powers of imaginative conjecture
The conflict between instinct and morality, the rough intrusion of accident into our lives, the weakness of human will - this most especially - has been her subject
This book is an important and interesting addition to the canon that links central preoccupations and stylistic devices of her early and later work . . . A thought-provoking addition to her oeuvre
Spellbinding, shrewd and funny, Drabble's tale of three women is a triumph . . . An exuberant, intelligent and thoroughly entertaining saga of three generations
Insightful and atmospherically convincing
Praise for Margaret Drabble: I have learned so much from Margaret Drabble's work. Her prose is very beautiful, very funny, and at the same time very serious. Novels like The Millstone and Jerusalem the Golden have helped me to understand what great writing can be
Dame Margaret Drabble was born in Sheffield in 1939 and was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge. She is the author of twenty highly acclaimed novels. She has also written biographies, screenplays and was the editor of the Oxford Companion to English Literature. She was appointed CBE in 1980, and made DBE in the 2008 Honours list. She was also awarded the 2011 Golden PEN Award for a Lifetime's Distinguished Service to Literature. She is married to the biographer Michael Holroyd.