A respectable married man becomes unstuck in Penelope Lively’s witty take on love, literature and the dangers of middle-aged folly.
Penelope Lively’s timeless, Booker Prize-winning novel explores the shifting nature of reality and identity through the many lives of its narrator.
Claudia Hampton, a famous writer, lies dying in hospital. But as the nurses tend to her with quiet condescension, she is plotting her greatest work: ‘a history of the world… and in the process, my own’. Gradually she re-creates the rich mosaic of her life and times, conjuring up those she has known. There is Gordon, her adored brother; Jasper, the charming, untrustworthy lover and father of Lisa, her cool, conventional daughter; and Tom, her one great love, both found and lost in wartime Egypt.
Penelope Lively
About the Author
Penelope Lively was born in Cairo. She is the author of many prize-winning novels and short story collections for both adults and children.Other nominated books by Penelope Lively
Through the life-changing experiences of 40-year-old Ann, Penelope Lively offers a subtle exploration of memory and identity, chance and consequence.