top of page

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

 

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

Clare Chambers - Small Pleasures

£9.99Price
    bottom of page