Buy a book for Mother’s Day
THERE couldn’t be a better time to buy a book for a woman - and by a woman, what with Mother’s Day around the corner, and the recent Baileys Women’s Prize For Fiction longlist announcement.
From dazzling debuts and historical sagas, to social dramas, humorous tales and real-life stories, there’s a book for every mother out there. Here are just a few of our top picks... ROMANCE ■ A Secret Garden by Katie Fforde (Century, £12.99): This light, romantic tale centres on two unlucky-in-love friends Lorna and Philly, who are working together on a ‘secret garden’ in the grounds of a large country house before it opens to the public - and discover that their beautiful workplace could be just the thing to put the spark back into their lives.
The author herself has hosted open gardens like the characters in her book, bringing a sense of authenticity to the scene.
■ My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella (Bantam, £18.99): The latest fresh and funny novel from the bestselling female fiction author introduces Katie Brenner, who appears to have the perfect life - a London flat, glamorous job, and super-cool Instagram feed.
In reality though, she rents a tiny room with no space for a wardrobe, has a hideous commute to a lowly admin job, and the life she shares on Instagram isn’t really hers.
When her female boss sacks her, she has to move to Somerset, where she helps her dad with his new glamping business.
And then her ex-boss books a holiday there - and it soon emerges the two women have more in common than first thought. DRAMA ■ Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore (£18.99, Hutchinson): This brilliantly observed saga, set against the backdrop of the French revolution, is narrated by Lizzie Fawkes, a radical but naive young woman in 1792 Bristol, brought up by a feminist writer and political activist father.
She separates herself from her radical upbringing when she marries a property developer who tries to subdue her independent spirit, and finds herself torn between his charisma and self-made success and her mother’s idealism.
Says a lot about the differences in outlook between generations and genders. THRILLER: ■ The Doll Funeral by Kate Hamer (Faber & Faber, £12.99): Any mums who read this author’s fantastic debut, The Girl In The Red Coat, should be champing at the bit to get their hands on a copy of her second novel, another disturbing page-turner. It centres on Ruby, a teenager who is physically abused by her repulsive stepfather but must pretend the bruises on her arms and the black eyes are a result of clumsiness. When she discovers her ‘parents’ are not her blood relatives, she sets out to hunt for her birth parents, unfolding a chilling tale of voodoo doll rituals, secrets, lies and surreal events. COFFEE TABLE
■ At Home At Highclere: Entertaining At The Real Downton Abbey by the Countess of Carnarvon (Preface, £30): Anyone who dreams of a Downton Abbey-style life may wallow in the revelations of this coffee table tome, presented as five historical weekends at Highclere Castle, ranging from the mid-19th century to present day - Disraeli’s reform cabinet in 1866, a literary weekend with Henry James in 1886, a visit from the Prince of Wales in 1895, a musical Easter with Malcolm Sargent in 1935, plus a life in the weekend of Highclere today. Also features menus and recipes passed down through the years.