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