Small Pleasures

BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, EVENING STANDARD, DAILY EXPRESS, METRO, SPECTATOR, RED MAGAZINE AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING. '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.