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