In A Good Light: A captivating romance from the bestselling author of Small Pleasures

Clare Chambers

May 2009 · Random House

About this ebook

From the highly-acclaimed author of SMALL PLEASURES - winner of the 2022 British Book Awards Page-Turner

Without even noticing, Esther Fairchild has become locked into routine.

Living with her adored brother, Christian, she divides her time between illustrating children's books, nightly shifts as a waitress, weekly visits to her father and fortnightly meetings with her married lover.

Then one day she encounters a face in the crowd which jolts her out of her mundane existence and makes her question both her life and the past that has helped to shape it. Memories she had long chosen to forget begin to resurface. Memories of an eccentric childhood in a large and shabby house, where the children were left to fend for themselves within the loose boundaries of their parents' unorthodox values. A chaotic existence peopled by a rich collection of feckless 'guests'.

And into this shambolic world came Donovan - regularly deposited by his unreliable mother - and Penny, Christian's girlfriend and Esther's idol. Until tragedy struck and shattered their joint existence. But now, it seems, their lives are about to become intertwined once more . . .


Praise for Clare Chambers:

'A wonderful novel. I loved it' Nina Stibbe on Small Pleasures

'Effortless to read, but every sentence lingers in the mind' Lissa Evans on Small Pleasures

'A captivating read' Woman's Own

'An irresistible novel - wry, perceptive and quietly devastating' Mail on Sunday on Small Pleasures

'Shines with an old-fashioned moral certainty that is as subtle and refreshing as it is unexpected' Independent on Sunday

'An almost flawlessly written tale of genuine, grown-up romantic anguish' The Sunday Times on Small Pleasures

Ratings and reviews

I probably won't remember this book, it was an easy read but a bit far fetched and predictable. First book I've read by this author and probably won't read anymore of her books.

About the author

Clare Chambers was born in 1966, attended a school in Croydon, read English at Oxford and wrote her first novel while she was living in New Zealand. She is also the author of romantic novels Back Trouble, A Dry Spell and Learning to Swim, which won the 1998 Parker Romantic Novel of the Year award. She now lives in Kent with her husband and young family.