Small Pleasures

Now available in the US–the dark horse literary novel that has taken Britain by storm! In the best tradition of Tessa Hadley,Kazuo Ishiguroand Ann Patchett–an astonishingkeenly observed period piece about an ordinary British woman in the 1950s whose dutiful life takes a sudden turn into a pitched battle between propriety and unexpected passion. LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION A BEST BOOK OF 2020 PICK: Daily TelegraphSunday Times IrelandDaily Express 1957: Jean Swinney is a feature writer on a local paper in the southeast suburbs of London. Clever but with limited career opportunities and on the brink of fortyJean lives a dreary existence that includes caring for her demanding widowed motherwho rarely leaves the house. It’s a small life with little joy and no likelihood of escape. That all changes when a young womanGretchen Tilburycontacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth. Jean seizes onto the bizarre story and sets out to discover whether Gretchen is a miracle or a fraud. But the more Jean investigatesthe more her life becomes strangely (and not unpleasantly) intertwined with that of the Tilburysincluding Gretchen’s gentle and thoughtful husband Howardwho mostly believes his wifeand their quirky and charming daughter Margaretwho becomes a sort of surrogate child for Jean. Gretchentoobecomes a much-needed friend in an otherwise empty social life. Jean cannot bring herself to discard what seems like her one chance at happinesseven as the story that she is researching starts to send dark ripples across all their lives…with unimaginable consequences. Both a mystery and a love storySmall Pleasures is a quintessentially British novel in the style of The Remains of the Dayabout conflict between personal fulfilment and duty; a novel that celebrates the beauty and potential for joy in all things plain and unfashionable.