**Pre-Order SHY CREATURES: the unforgettable new novel about love, family and freedom from award-winning author of SMALL PLEASURES, Clare Chambers

COMING AUGUST 2024

***

LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION

A BBC 2 'BETWEEN THE COVERS' BOOK CLUB PICK**

'Wonderful' RICHARD OSMAN

'Perfect' INDIA KNIGHT

'Beautiful' JESSIE BURTON

'Witty and sharp' DAVID NICHOLLS

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.

'Gorgeous . . . I could not recommend it more' PANDORA SYKES

'Remarkable . . . Small Pleasures is no small pleasure' THE TIMES

'Irresistible . . . wry, perceptive and quietly devastating' MAIL ON SUNDAY