In fact after I finished reading I was prompted to turn back to the beginning and examine the first 60 or so pages to make all the connections. You never know what goes on behind closed doors, and never has this been more true than in the story of Abigail Jex (née Onions) and her memories of her childhood friend Frances Radley. 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.

A pointless tragedy and exile to Australia dealt with two of them, while the others managed happy endings. It starts with a present situation and then goes back in time for most of the book until everything is explained and you get back to where you started. I wish the author had spent more time developing the part of the story connected with Abigail's discovery of a previously unknown family member - but I cannot explain further for fear of spoiling the novel for those who have yet to read it.One thing I didn't love was the excessive dramatism and tragedy; I know what their goal was but I don't think it was necessary to go to such lengths. And very few of them are spared, since this is also a paean to youthful stupidity and inexperience and inattentive parenting. A lovely, often very funny story about a girl cursed with an embarassing surname (Onions) and unhappy parents with a deeply suburban life style, who finds an escape from home by her friendship with the wildly bohemian Radley family.

As in life, the events in her books are at once comical ,endearing , brutally realistic and often tinged with some tragedy . An intelligent and escapist read - well written and funny" Daily Express "Modern, intelligently observed and highly original" Daily Mail "A spirited account of growing up and falling in love" Good Housekeeping "This delicious novel - is a joy from beginning to end - a perfect novel" Lisa Jewell "Engagingly written" Prima --This text refers to the paperback edition. She has since written eight further novels, including Learning to Swim (Century 1998) which won the Romantic Novelists’ Association best novel award and was adapted as a Radio 4 play, and In a Good Light (Century 2004) which was longlisted for the Whitbread best novel prize.We follow Abigail as she eagerly embarks on new adventures throughout her teenage years in the Radley household. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. I really enjoyed the first half of this book, however I did feel it dragged on a little, and I wasn't entirely satisfied with the ending which felt somewhat anticlimactic. This is a wonderful exploration of family, of growing up and imagining other families are more cool/interesting/fun/less troubled than your own, only beneath the surface, everywhere are secrets and tragedy lurks. Clare Chambers is a new discovery and I thought the book well written though doubt it would appeal to the average male reader.

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 . 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. Some of the experiences of working for an eccentric, independent publisher in the pre-digital era found their way into her novel The Editor's Wife (Century, 2007).

Clare Chambers's writing reads so effortlessly, it's like you're reading something you wrote yourself, as she adds some thoughts about life that you'll probably identify with. Hotjar sets this cookie to know whether a user is included in the data sampling defined by the site's daily session limit. Payments made using National Book Tokens are processed by National Book Tokens Ltd, and you can read their Terms and Conditions here. After leaving primary school, she meets Francis and her very different and family, thrusting her headfirst into a lifestyle she could only have imagined before. Abigail, the narrator and heroine, was a subtly interesting and very sympathetic character, and the wild Radley family (bad artist father, bread-winning elegant mother with a lover on the side, brooding melancholic son and lively,fun-loving daughter) were brilliantly realized.