Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

WINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2022 PAGETURNER BOOK OF THE YEAR

LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2021

1957, the suburbs of South East London. Jean Swinney is a journalist on a local paper, trapped in a life of duty and disappointment from which there is no likelihood of escape.

When a young woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud.

As the investigation turns her quiet life inside out, Jean is suddenly given an unexpected chance at friendship, love and - possibly - happiness.

But there will, inevitably, be a price to pay.

There's compassion and quiet humour to be found in this tale of a putative virgin birth in postwar suburban London... Chambers's eye for drab, undemonstrative details achieves a Larkin-esque lucidity. - Alfred Hickling, GUARDIAN

An irresistible novel - wry, perceptive and quietly devastating. - Hephzibah Anderson, MAIL ON SUNDAY

Small Pleasures is no twee romance, but a quietly compelling novel of duty and desire. - Francesca Carington, THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH