Product Description

Abigail Jex never expected to see any of the Radley household again. In dramatic contrast to her own conventional family, the Radley's were extraordinary, captivating creatures, transplanted from a bohemian corner of North London to outer suburbia, and the young Abigail found herself drawn into their magic circle: the eccentric Frances, her new best friend; Frances' mother, the liberated, headstrong Lexi; and of course the brilliant, beautiful Rad. Abigail thought she'd banished the ghost of her life with them and the catastrophe that ended it, but thirteen years later a chance encounter forces her to acknowledge that the spell is far from broken...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16469 in Books
• Published on: 1998-09-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

From the Publisher
'This delicious novel - is a joy from beginning to end - a perfect novel' Lisa Jewell

About the Author
Clare Chambers:
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 the author of 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.

Customer Reviews

Don't judge THIS book by it's cover. Read it and decide.
Looking at the cover of this book will tell you 'only buy me if you're a woman'.
However as a man I can say that this was an absolutely excellent read for anyone.
If you were brought up in British suburbia I defy you not to think that large chunks of this book have been written about you.
The difference between the two familes involved is stark, but you can't help liking them both in their own way. The characters are well thought out and are very believable and my only thoughts at the end of the book was that I hope there will be a sequel.
I was suprised to see this book won a romantic novel prize as I thought it was far more a statement about diverse suburban upbringings than a romantic novel. The romance, whilst interesting and believable, is a mere side issue.
I thoroughly enjoyed it!
If you liked the humour in this book then I suggest you also read Clare Chambers earlier book 'Back Trouble' which was very different but equally funny (and has a better cover).

Wonderful! I didn't want to reach the end
A friend recommended this book to me (I'd never heard of Claire Chambers before)and I'm glad she did. The characterisation was the best part - the characters just leapt off the page and I just HAD to find out what was going to happen to them. I couldn't put this book down! Much better than all that 'chick lit' stuff that's out there at the moment. This is contemporary and romantic, about friendship, family, loss and love and, best of all, it's written by someone with real talent. I look forward to reading more from Claire Chambers.

a delight to read - couldn't put it down
Abigail Onions is cursed with an embarrassing surname and parents whose disastrous marriage is compounded by profund conventionality. Desperate for love and excitement, Abigail gets a new lease of life when she gets away from the form bully (not before she has snipped off one of her plaits in defence of another girl) moves to grammar school and meets Frances, the girl who becomes her best friend. Frances's family are as madly bohemian and unconventional as the Onions are obessively clean and restrained; from her hopeless pizza-delivery boy father who paints appalling portraits of his wife in the nude to their dog, Growth, they are irresistible. And then there is Frances's sulky but brilliant brother, Rad, with whom Abigail falls in love....

This could be a tiresomely soppy love-story but it is in fact written in the genre that Evelyn Waugh and later novelists such as Jane Gardam made famous, about an individual who blossoms as a result of a close friendship with someone of their sex only to fall in love with their sibling. It examines love, loyalty, secrets and families with an unblinking gaze that never descends to the malicious. Clare Chambers writes with a quiet elegance, wit, and real craftsmanship so that the unfolding of a mystery and a tragedy come so slowly you almost don't notice them - but you can't put her down. The ending in particular is perfectly judged. I'm ordering more by this very talented young writer, who should be a lot better published and promoted than she is now.