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
ISBN: 978-1-4746-1390-3
