The Whitbread Award-winning author of the Old Filth trilogy captures a
moment in time for three young women on the cusp of adulthood.
Yorkshire, 1946. The end of the war has changed the world again, and,
emboldened by this new dawning, Hetty Fallows, Una Vane, and Lieselotte
Klein seize the opportunities with enthusiasm. Hetty, desperate to
escape the grasp of her critical mother, books a solo holiday to the
Lake District under the pretext of completing her Oxford summer
coursework. Una, the daughter of a disconcertingly cheery hairdresser,
entertains a romantically inclined young man from the wrong side of the
tracks and the left-side of politics. Meanwhile, Lieselotte, the
mysterious Jewish refugee from Germany, leaves the Quaker family who had
rescued her, to test herself in London. Although strikingly different
from one another, these young women share the common goal of adventure
and release from their middle-class surroundings through romance and
education.
"Gardam's lean, fast-paced prose is at turns hugely funny and deeply
moving. . . . [Her] characters are acutely and compassionately
observed."--Atlantic Monthly
"Quirky, enchanting . . . with lively, laugh-out loud elan."--The
Baltimore Sun
"Splendid . . . Gardam's style is perfect."--The New York Times Book
Review
"With winning charm and wit . . . Gardam frames her story in dozens of
crisp, brief scenes featuring deliciously dizzy conversation."--Kirkus
Reviews (starred review)
"Ebullient, humorous, and wise, this is a novel to savor."--Booklist
"The portrait of postwar England as conventions crumble and the country
is rebuilt is terrific."--Publishers Weekly
