Small Pleasures

***Out now: Clare Chambers''s new novel Shy Creatures***

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