My agent Antony Harwood and editor Louisa Joyner were exceptionally supportive of this book from start to finish, even when I explained it to them and it sounded really weird. Many thanks to them, to my copy-editor Eleanor Rees, to Anne Owen, Sophie Portas and to everyone at Faber & Faber for their continuing indulgence.

Most of all, I would like to thank all of my Peterborough relatives, in particular my cousin Maria Blyzinski, our Ria, who put me right on a host of small details. Now my parents are dead and my children grown, I value extended family more than ever. They, and the groups of people mentioned above, have shown me much generosity and kindness – arguably the purest form of love.

About the Author

Louise Doughty is the author of eight novels, most recently Black Water, which was published in 2016 to critical acclaim in the UK and the US, where it was nominated as a New York Times Notable Books of the Year. Her previous book was the Top Ten bestseller Apple Tree Yard, adapted for BBC One as a four-part series starring Emily Watson. She is a critic and cultural commentator for UK and international newspapers and broadcasts regularly for the BBC. She lives in London.

By the Same Author

fiction

CRAZY PAVING

DANCE WITH ME

HONEYDEW

FIRES IN THE DARK

STONE CRADLE

WHATEVER YOU LOVE

APPLE TREE YARD

BLACK WATER

non-fiction

A NOVEL IN A YEAR

Copyright

First published in the UK in 2019
by Faber & Faber Ltd
Bloomsbury House
74–77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA

This ebook edition first published in 2019

Cover design by Faber
Cover image © Plainpicture/David Carreno Hansen

The right of Louise Doughty to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly

ISBN 978–0–571–32197–1