Walking Naked

Nina Bawden

Nov 2011 · Vmc Series Ibhuku elingu-556 · Kuthengiswe ngu-Virago

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'Dazzlingly effective . . . not easy to forget' FINANCIAL TIMES

'Continually surprising, witty and often disquieting, Walking Naked is one of Nina Bawden's most impressive novels' COSMOPOLITAN

'Among the most perceptive and accomplished novelists writing today' P. D. JAMES

Laura is happily married, a mother and a successful novelist. Although she is prey to night terrors, she is adept at smoothing the disorder of reality into controlled prose. Walking Naked telescopes the whole of Laura's life - childhood, marriages, triumphs and disappointments - into a day in which the past and present converge. It begins with a game of tennis played for duty rather than amusement and progresses, via an afternoon party of old friends and jaded emotions, to a bewildering visit to Laura's son, imprisoned on a drugs' charge. At its close, the possibility of death within the family hauls unresolved conflicts centre stage and Laura strips herself of the posturing and self-deceit with which she has cloaked her vulnerability.

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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.