Book description
'One of the best novels I have read this year. It's deft, funny,
poignant, surprising and beautifully shaped.' Margaret Atwood
Mary Swann, a latter-day Emily Dickinson, submitted a paper bag of
poems to a newspaper editor mere hours before her death at her husband's
hands. Works of genius can come from extraordinary places. A feminist
scholar, a librarian, a biographer and a publisher all try to piece
together the story behind her life and work in this teasing, inventive
and beautiful novel. 'Quite excellent. Hers is a name to set beside
those of Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro.' Anita Brookner, Spectator
'A funny, compassionate, open-handed novel. A worthy British debut from
a fine Canadian author.' Glasgow Herald
'Formally ingenious and inventive, strikingly evocative of place, of
character, of the world of things, capable of both comedy and
tenderness, and above all beautifully written.' LRB
'Clearly a work of an experienced and skilful writer. This is not only
a first-rate read, it is also sophisticated and ingeniously crafted.'
Listener Carol Shields's novels include Larry's Party (1997) - winner
of the 1998 Orange Prize - and The Stone Diaries (1993), winner of the
Pulitzer Prize and short-listed for the Booker Prize.
