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‘A powerful tragedy’ Independent
Described by the New York Times upon her death as ‘one of Britain’s best-known novelists’, plunge yourself into the wry world of Pamela Hansford Johnson in this story of seduction and marriage, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Jane Howard and Barbara Pym.
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Gavin and Hannah Eastwood are a happy couple, holidaying with their overprotected eleven-year-old son Giles in a beautiful village on the coast of Belgium.
Melissa is a student of Gavin’s, also in the village, having followed Gavin there. A hopeless romantic living in a fantasy, she obsessively follows the family, going out of her way to bump into the couple repeatedly – soon becoming inescapable.
While Gavin pities her, Hannah finds her presence alarming; and while they’re distracted by her appearances, they miss Giles secretly pursuing his own sinister friendship. . .
‘Teases your curiosity and plays on your sympathy’ Kirkus
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Praise for Pamela Hansford Johnson:
‘Witty, satirical and deftly malicious’ Anthony Burgess
‘A remarkable craftswoman’ A.S. Byatt
‘Hansford Johnson at her wittiest is Waugh mingled with Malcolm Bradbury Ruth Rendell
‘A writer whose memory fully deserves to be kept alive’ Jonathan Coe
Described by the New York Times upon her death as ‘one of Britain’s best-known novelists’, plunge yourself into the wry world of Pamela Hansford Johnson in this story of seduction and marriage, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Jane Howard and Barbara Pym.
******************
Gavin and Hannah Eastwood are a happy couple, holidaying with their overprotected eleven-year-old son Giles in a beautiful village on the coast of Belgium.
Melissa is a student of Gavin’s, also in the village, having followed Gavin there. A hopeless romantic living in a fantasy, she obsessively follows the family, going out of her way to bump into the couple repeatedly – soon becoming inescapable.
While Gavin pities her, Hannah finds her presence alarming; and while they’re distracted by her appearances, they miss Giles secretly pursuing his own sinister friendship. . .
‘Teases your curiosity and plays on your sympathy’ Kirkus
******************
Praise for Pamela Hansford Johnson:
‘Witty, satirical and deftly malicious’ Anthony Burgess
‘A remarkable craftswoman’ A.S. Byatt
‘Hansford Johnson at her wittiest is Waugh mingled with Malcolm Bradbury Ruth Rendell
‘A writer whose memory fully deserves to be kept alive’ Jonathan Coe
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Reviews
A powerful tragedy
Witty, satirical and deftly malicious
Sharply observed, artfully constructed and always enlivened by the freshness of an imagery that derives from [Johnson's] poetic beginnings
A remarkable craftswoman
Miss Johnson is one of the most accomplished of the English women writers
Hansford Johnson at her wittiest is Waugh mingled with Malcolm Bradbury
A writer whose memory fully deserves to be kept alive