Anne Youngson

A young woman's extraordinary journey of self-discovery and an intimate meditation on what it takes to find our place in the world. I used to believe the world had been created for me; every stone and grain of sand. As I grew older I began to think of myself as something tacked on to the edge. 1939 London: From McPhail's Passage to Kensington's Grand Palace Hotel Rose Dunbar is evacuated from her humble home on the Rock of Gibraltar and dropped into a chaotic city of falling bombs perplexing class rules and bad weather. Despite being 'flagrantly foreign' to the locals she becomes an efficient go-between for the upper-class ladies helping out with the war effort and her own tribe of noisy displaced families.

It is only when she is shifted to the countryside to become secretary to the plain-speaking and sightless Major Inchbold that Rose's dizzying journey to womanhood will become more surreal than ever as she drinks tea at the vicarage shields her best friend from abuse and stands up for the lower orders. But Rose's greatest dilemma is yet to come as she must decide where her home - and her heart - really lies. In Anne Youngson's wry and sublimely understated prose this unique and beautiful story of love class and belonging is also a profound and intimate meditation on what it takes to find our place in the world.

When Tina Hopgood writes a letter of regret to a man she has never met, she doesn’t expect a reply. When Anders Larsen, a lonely museum curator, answers it, nor does he. Their correspondence blossoms as they bare their souls to each other with stories of joy, anguish and discovery. But then Tina’s letters suddenly cease, and Anders is thrown into despair...

The village cleaning lady who holds everyone's house-keys opens a boot to find some unexpectedly dead contents; a vengeful dinner party host serves more than just a roast to her six guests; and driven to distraction by his new young wife, a man resorts to two grisly acts, in a gripping re-imagining of a famous Irish ballad.

Ripping away the polite façade of small communities, these stories of love, lies and revenge reveal the roiling emotions and frustration that can lead seemingly good people to do bad things. Rich in compassion, pathos and humour, Anne Youngson offers us her dark take on human foibles, pettiness and rivalry in this sparkling, unputdownable collection.

Meet Eve, who has departed from her thirty-year career to become a Free Spirit; Sally, who has waved goodbye to her indifferent husband and two grown-up children; and Anastasia: defiantly independent narrowboat-dweller, suddenly vulnerable as she awaits a life-saving operation. Inexperienced and ill-equipped, Sally and Eve embark upon a journey through the canals of England, guided by the remote and unsympathetic Anastasia. As they glide gently - and not so gently - through the countryside, the eccentricities and challenges of canalboat life draw them inexorably together, and a tender and unforgettable story unfolds.