About this eBook
'One of the wisest and most versatile of our novelists' CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, GUARDIAN
'So intelligent and clear-eyed that every page seems to peel another layer of pretence' ISABEL QUIGLEY, FINANCIAL TIMES
'Nina Bawden's novels are self-perpetuating pleasures' KIRKUS REVIEWS
'Today, Tuesday, the day that Penelope has chosen to leave her husband, is the first really warm day of spring . . . '
Penelope has always done her best to be a good wife, a good mistress, a good mother - and a good magistrate. Today she is more conscious that usual of the thinness of the thread that distinguishes good from bad, the law-abiding from the criminal. Sitting in court, hearing a short, sad case of indecent exposure and a long, confused theft, she finds herself examining her own sex life - what would that sound like in court? - and her own actions and intentions. How would the court judge what she's about to do this afternoon . . . ?
'So intelligent and clear-eyed that every page seems to peel another layer of pretence' ISABEL QUIGLEY, FINANCIAL TIMES
'Nina Bawden's novels are self-perpetuating pleasures' KIRKUS REVIEWS
'Today, Tuesday, the day that Penelope has chosen to leave her husband, is the first really warm day of spring . . . '
Penelope has always done her best to be a good wife, a good mistress, a good mother - and a good magistrate. Today she is more conscious that usual of the thinness of the thread that distinguishes good from bad, the law-abiding from the criminal. Sitting in court, hearing a short, sad case of indecent exposure and a long, confused theft, she finds herself examining her own sex life - what would that sound like in court? - and her own actions and intentions. How would the court judge what she's about to do this afternoon . . . ?
About the author
Nina Bawden (1925-2012), CBE, was one of Britain's most distinguished and best-loved novelists, both for adults and children (Peppermint Pig and Carrie's War being among her most famous books for young people). She has published over forty novels and an autobiography, In My Own Time. She was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Circles of Deceit and her novel Family Money was filmed by Channel 4, starring Claire Boom and June Whitfield. In 2004 she received the S. T. Dupont Golden Pen Award for a Lifetime's Contribution to Literature.
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