Platinum Readers Circle (Center Point)
3 total works
A hugely satisfying and romantic novel, Consequences plots the lives of three generations of twentieth-century women.
In 1935, privileged misfit Lorna meets the love of her life. Falling for a pennyless and bohemian artist, Matt, she abandons her stuffy Kensington existence in London and moves to a rustic cottage in Somerset. A baby, Molly, is born, but the coming war takes Matt - and Lorna's dreams - away.
Lorna's decisions and their unforeseeable consequences come to shape the stories first of her daughter, Molly, and then her granddaughter, Ruth.
Consequences tells of three generations of women in their own twentieth-century times united by their shared experiences of love, pain, fate and happiness . . .
'A flawlessly constructed mini-epic that will delight' Daily Telegraph
'Nourishing fare from a writer on sparkling form' Daily Mail
*NOMINATED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD*
Family Album 'a hugely enjoyable read' from Booker Prize winner Penelope Lively
'This novel should delight her regular readers and ensnare new ones' Evening Standard
Allersmead is a big shabby Victorian suburban house. The perfect place to grow up for elegant Sandra, difficult Gina, destructive Paul, considerate Katie, clever Roger and flighty Clare.
But was it?
Now adults, the children return to Allersmead one by one. To their home-making mother and aloof writer father, and a house that for years has played silent witness to a family's secrets.
And one devastating secret of which no one speaks . . .
'One of those ridiculously simple, ridiculously readable novels whose artistry only becomes apparent when you put it down' Sunday Telegraph
'A pleasure to read, hugely enjoyable, consistently absorbing, hilarious' Independent
Penelope Lively is the author of many prize-winning novels and short-story collections for both adults and children. She won the 1987 Booker Prize for her highly acclaimed novel Moon Tiger. She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award. She was appointed CBE in the 2001 New Year's Honours List, and DBE in 2012. Penelope Lively lives in London.
When . . . Charlotte is mugged and breaks her hip, her daughter Rose cannot accompany her employer Lord Peters to Manchester, which means his niece Marion has to go instead, which means she sends a text to her lover which is intercepted by his wife, which is . . . just the beginning in the ensuing chain of life-altering events.
In this engaging, utterly absorbing and brilliantly told novel, Penelope Lively shows us how one random event can cause marriages to fracture and heal themselves, opportunities to appear and disappear, lovers who might never have met to find each other and entire lives to become irrevocably changed.
Funny, humane, touching, sly and sympathetic, How It All Began is a brilliant sleight of hand from an author at the top of her game.
'Contains some of Lively's funniest and most enjoyable character studies . . . she remains a sublime storyteller'Guardian
'Deeply comical, essentially kind-hearted, wonderfully written and seasoned with a rare wisdom'Literary Review
'More stylish than many writers half her age . . . Lively knows a thing or two about storytelling . . . her candour is refreshing, and reminds us that you don't have to lie to yourself to live life finely until the very end' The Times
Penelope Lively is the author of many prize-winning novels and short-story collections for both adults and children. She has twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize: once in 1977 for her first novel, The Road to Lichfield, and again in 1984 for According to Mark. She later won the 1987 Booker Prize for her highly acclaimed novel Moon Tiger. Her other books include Going Back; Judgement Day; Next to Nature, Art; Perfect Happiness; Passing On; City of the Mind; Cleopatra's Sister; Heat Wave; Beyond the Blue Mountains, a collection of short stories; Oleander, Jacaranda, a memoir of her childhood days in Egypt;Spiderweb; her autobiographical work, A House Unlocked; The Photograph; Making It Up; Consequences;Family Album, which was shortlisted for the 2009 Costa Novel Award, and How It All Began. She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award. She was appointed CBE in the 2001 New Year's Honours List, and DBE in 2012. Penelope Lively lives in London.