Small Pleasures

£9.99

1957, south-east suburbs of London. Jean Swinney is a feature writer on a local paper, disappointed in love and – on the brink of 40 – living a limited existence with her truculent mother: a small life from which there is no likelihood of escape. When a young Swiss woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud. But the more Jean investigates, the more her life becomes strangely (and not unpleasantly) intertwined with that of the Tilburys.

ISBN: 9781474613903 Author: Chambers, Clare Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Publication Date: 29th April 2021 Imprint: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Cover: Paperback Dewey: 823.92 (edition:23) Pages: 350 Language: English Edition: 1st paperback ed Readership: General - Trade / Code: K Category:

LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2021

‘A WORD-OF-MOUTH HIT’ Evening Standard

‘A very fine book… It’s witty and sharp and reads like something by Barbara Pym or Anita Brookner, without ever feeling like a pastiche’
David Nicholls

‘Perfect’
India Knight

‘Beautiful’
Jessie Burton

‘Wonderful’
Richard Osman

‘Miraculous’
Tracy Chevalier

‘A wonderful novel. I loved it’
Nina Stibbe

‘Effortless to read, but every sentence lingers in the mind’
Lissa Evans

‘This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I honestly don’t want you to be without it’
Lucy Mangan

‘Gorgeous… If you’re looking for something escapist and bittersweet, I could not recommend more’
Pandora Sykes

‘Remarkable… Small Pleasures is no small pleasure’
The Times

‘An irresistible novel – wry, perceptive and quietly devastating’
Mail on Sunday

‘Chambers’ eye for undemonstrative details achieves a Larkin-esque lucidity’
Guardian

‘An almost flawlessly written tale of genuine, grown-up romantic anguish’
The Sunday Times

1957, the suburbs of South East London. Jean Swinney is a journalist on a local paper, trapped in a life of duty and disappointment from which there is no likelihood of escape.

When a young woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud.

As the investigation turns her quiet life inside out, Jean is suddenly given an unexpected chance at friendship, love and – possibly – happiness.

But there will, inevitably, be a price to pay.

Book of the Year for: The Times, Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Daily Express, Metro, Spectator, Red Magazine and Good Housekeeping

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