Most Popular Books by Nina Bawden

When an unexpected inheritance threatens to change his life with his adopted family in London, an eleven-year-old foundling runs away from home.

''A darkly comedic tale of adultery that features a dangerously "good" and disciplined heroine'' KIRKUS REVIEWS ''Throughout her career Bawden has concentrated on the careful depiction of character, feelings and behaviour'' GUARDIAN At fifteen, Daisy, confident and cherished, is appalled to hear that Ruth''s father locked her in the old garden ice house as a childhood punishment: no wonder her friend shelters in make believe. The revelation of that primitive cruelty cements a friendship in which protection plays no small part. Years later, middle aged, they remain close friends and live on the same street. So when Daisy''s husband dies suddenly, Ruth''s discovery that the marriage was unhappy is the first stage in the unravelling of the certainties she has wrapped around her adult life. Friendship, love, marriage and above all, the scorching effects of adultery, come under the microscope in this dextrous novel. Journeying from a terrifying suburban household to its unexpected conclusion in the Egyptian Pharaoh''s tombs, The Ice House is startling, tragic and humorous by turns.

''Bawden has concentrated on the careful depiction of character, feelings and behaviour'' GUARDIAN ''On every page there is a shock of recognition'' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH ''Among the most perceptive and accomplished novelists writing today'' P. D. JAMES It is the year of the Queen''s Coronation and Joanna, Kate and Poll who are eighteen, twelve and six are living in a riverside suburb of London with their mother Ellen, and their stepfather Boyd. Accepting his wise, unstinting love in their apparently secure lives, they are incurious about their vanished natural father. But the past arrives to upset the present in the person of Aunt Hat, a gossipy old friend with a husband imprisoned for assaulting her, and who seems to bring news from a different world of chaos and drama. The real danger, however, comes not from Aunt Hat''s indiscretions but the girls themselves . . . Perfectly balanced between pain and laughter, A Little Love, A Little Learning combines a touching and convincing family portrait with the lively evocation of a small community.

Cora and her older brother and sister are to stay with her grandparents for six months while their parents are in Japan. When Granny is hospitalized, Cora is moved next door, where ''Aunt Sunday'' (no relation) has a daughter her age. Everyone thinks that Angelica is the sweetest little girl . . . but Cora knows better. "A splendid, thought-provoking story".--Kirkus Reviews, pointered review. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

''I am an outside child. That is what Plato Jones calls me.'' Jane Tucker is thirteen years old when she discovers she has a half-brother and sister, a revelation which promises to bring both excitement and succour to her ordinary life. But obstacles lie in her path when, for unknown reasons, she is prevented from meeting them. Aided by her friend Plato, Jane tracks down her brother and sister to their home in the East End of London. There she finds still more surprises lie in store for her. Can Jane at last be part of a ''proper'' family, or must she always remain the outside child? This is the story of a girl and her family and the secrets they keep from one another. Both funny and poignant, The Outside Child is a beautifully drawn study of adolescence from one of Britain''s most skilled writers for children.

''This is the off-side of lust in plush suburbia, described by a crypto-moralist with a mischievous sense of humour'' SUNDAY TIMES ''A born story-teller'' INDEPENDENT ''The modest and moderating virtues of Nina Bawden''s novels can easily be demonstrated by her earlier title, The Grain of Truth'' KIRKUS REVIEWS Emma''s anxious and manipulative plea, ''Someone listen to me'', opens - and closes - this deliciously uncomfortable novel in which Nina Bawden explores myriad emotional disguises with her characteristic acuity. When Emma''s father-in-law falls down the stairs to his death, she is convinced she pushed him in an act of wish-fulfilment. To her husband Henry and her close friend Holly, this is unthinkable. Guilt is simply Emma''s obsession in a humdrum domestic existence enlivened by romantic fantasy. For Holly, who successfully fields a string of love affairs, sexual pleasures are more easily attainable, whereas Henry, a Divorce lawyer, prides himself on being a realist. Each tells their story in turn, illuminating and distorting their separate versions of the truth. As they do so, an intricate jigsaw of the private deceits with which they shore up everyday life emerges.

A Puffin Book - stories that last a lifetime. Carrie''s War by Nina Bawden is an unforgettable Second World War story. ''I did a dreadful thing...or I feel that I did, and nothing can change it...'' It is the Second World War and Carrie and Nick are evacuated from London to a small town in Wales, where they are placed with strict Mr Evans and his timid mouse of a sister. Their friend Albert is luckier, living in Druid''s Bottom with Hepzibah Green who tells wonderful stories, and the strange Mister Johnny, who speaks a language all of his own. Carrie and Nick are happy to visit Albert there, until one day when Carrie does a terrible thing - the worst thing she ever did in her life... Based on her own childhood, Nina Bawden''s enchanting story Carrie''s War has delighted a whole generation of readers. Nina Bawden is without question one of the very best writers for children'' Daily Telegraph Perfect for fans of Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian. Now part of the A Puffin Book - stories that last a lifetime - series Nina Bawden is one of today''s best writers for both adults and children. she has often used her own childhood experiences in her books - Carrie''s War is set in the mining valley in Wales where she lived as an evacuee in wartime. She studied philosophy, politics and economics at Somerville College, Oxford and finished her first novel the year after she took her degree. She won the Guardian Award for Children''s Fiction for The Peppermint Pig.

Laura is happily married, a mother and a successful novelist. Interweaving memory and reflection, this novel telescopes the whole of Laura''s life - childhood, marriages, triumphs and disappointments - into one day. The author''s novel Circles of Deceit was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE LOST MAN BOOKER PRIZE ''Nina Bawden gets inside the skins of all her people and shows them as paradoxical, crotchety, adulterous, ambitious and completely human . . . A beautifully sustained impression of the impossibility of family life'' INDEPENDENT ''A story about a middle-class family in crisis, which is so good, and so true'' GUARDIAN The expulsion from school of their eldest son shatters the middle-class security of Maggie, a writer, and Charlie, a journalist. Since childhood, Toby has been diffident and self-absorbed, but the threat of drug-taking and his refusal - or inability - to discuss his evident unhappiness, disturbs them sufficiently to seek professional help. Veering between private agony and public cheerfulness, Maggie and Charlie struggle to support their son and cope with the reactions- and advice- of friends and relatives. Noted for the acuity with which she reaches into the heart of relationships, Nina Bawden here excels in revealing the painful, intimate truths of a family in crisis. Toby''s situation is explored with great tenderness, while Maggie''s grief and self-recrimination are rigorously, if compassionately, observed.

''A born story teller'' INDEPENDENT ''Nina Bawden''s readers should be numbered like the sands of the sea'' GUARDIAN ''The first time the children saw the Devil, he was sitting next to them in the second row of deckchairs in the bandstand. He was biting his nails.'' So begins the horrifying story of a madman loose in a small seaside town - his prey the very young and the very old. Seen through the eyes of Hilary - a precocious, highly imaginative, lonely child - it is a chilling story about the perceptiveness of children, the blindness of parents and the allure of strangers. As the adults carry on with their own grown-up capers, Hilary is led further and further into the twilight world of one man''s terrifyingly warped view of normal life. But will she have the sense to resist it?

Lonely and forlorn after their mother''s death and their sudden arrival at Aunt Mabel''s seaside boarding-house, John, Mary and Ben Mallory are unimpressed with their new life in England. But there are wonderful surprises in store for them when they discover a secret way into the grand and empty house next door. Soon all sorts of unexpected events will unfold as the siblings encounter a whole host of eccentric characters and happenings. Completed in 1963, The Secret Passage is Nina Bawden''s first children''s novel and was written especially for her own three children after they had discovered a secret passage in the cellar of their house. It beautifully reflects her own inquisitive nature - as she herself has said: ''I was a keyhole child, fearsomely curious'' - wedded to her subtly innovative ability to empathise with the child''s view.

Originally abandoned by her actor parents who later attempt to gain custody, Cat wages a spirited campaign to decide her own fate and remain with her grandmother.

On the Scottish island of Skua, friendship develops between the lonely and mysterious Perdita and a blind girl, Janey. Both possess a kind of second sight - Janey''s is the ability to hear, feel and remember more than others, and Perdita''s is the ominous legacy of her being a witch''s daughter. When Janey''s brother, Tom, starts investigating a cluster of mysterious events and suspicious characters, all three become entwined in an adventure of hidden jewels, desperate criminals and dangerous detection. Written in 1963, The Witch''s Daughter showcases Nina Bawden''s innate regard for the integrity of her young characters. As she has said: ''I like writing for children. It seems to me that most people underestimate their understanding and the strength of their feelings and in my books for them I try to put this right.'' Hugely admired on publication by both reviewers and readers, it was described as ''thrilling'' by the Times Literary Supplement.

SUMMARY: A twelve-year-old girl and her friends try to discover the true identity of the small boy who seems to have no name.

''Warm and funny, this tale of a pint-size pig and the family he saves will take up a giant space in your heart'' — Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Girl of Ink & Stars ‘What a consummate storymaker Nina Bawden is’ — Michael Morpurgo, author of Kensuke''s Kingdom Winner of The Guardian''s Prize for Children''s Fiction, The Peppermint Pig is a modern classic by Nina Bawden, beloved author of Carrie''s War. Perfect for children aged 9+. ‘D’ya want a peppermint pig, Mrs Greengrass?’ Poll looked at the milkman, thinking of sweets, but there was a real pig poking its snout out of the milkman’s coat pocket. It was the tiniest pig she had ever seen. It is a difficult year for the Greengrasses. Poll’s father has gone overseas for work and the family has to rely on the generosity of two aunts. After moving to a small country town, Poll struggles to settle into her new life and she just can’t seem to keep out of trouble! Everything changes when a clever, mischievous pig arrives. Can he bring joy and laughter back into their lives?

A story about a family evacuated from London to a farm in Wales during the second world war and Henry, the mischievous squirrel who comes to live with them.

When a mysterious eighteen-year-old comes to live with his grandparents and three half-cousins, sinister things begin to happen.

''It is a measure of Bawden''s skill, that she manages to show both the terrors of extreme longevity and its comic potential'' THE TIMES ''An upper-middle class version of Mike Leigh''s Secrets and Lies'' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY ''Bawden has a penetraing eye for both the insalubrious and gorgeous detail, homing in with language that is always crisp and precise'' GUARDIAN In six days, Silas Mudd will celebrate his 100th birthday. He is alarmingly healthy and tough as old boots - which is more than can be said of his son Will. ''Not sure he''ll make old bones,'' Silas confides loudly to Coral, his daughter-in-law. Grumpily flattered by the fuss over his impending party - even from his irritating family, Silas'' greater pleasure is ''to go over his life'' and the women whom he loved and who made trouble for him: his sterling and capable Aunt; his wonderfully vulgar second wife Bella; Molly, a music-hall singing sister; and Effie, his first and hopeless wife. But there is no doubt that Silas''s son and his two daughters will be at the party. Best outfits and good form are what they think Silas wants served up, and they dare not disappoint him. This is not a family that reveals disturbing thoughts or truths. Silas is the only one left who knows exactly what is shoring up his family. So he sits, waiting and thinking, wondering what would happen if he were to tell.

''A cast of nice, idiosyncratic characters . . . in the Turkish political climate'' NEW YORK TIMES ''She held her readers'' attention with her taut, inventive unfolding of twists and turns'' GUARDIAN ''The comedy lies, as in the best and subtlest of comedies, in the exquisite patterning'' NEW STATESMAN George is an unusually successful travel agent, providing other people with the adventures he dare not risk. Though content to wrap himself in fantasies, he is haunted by the fact that ''the important things happened whilst his back was turned'' and by the belief that he fathered the daughter - now a desirable young woman - of his best friends, Sam and Claire. To avoid temptation, George stumbles into a disastrous marriage and determines to mould himself into a supportive husband. But a holiday in Turkey snaps his private world when George finds himself in the midst of intrigue and murder and is forced to acknowledge that life is not the fairy-tale he''d imagined. In this superbly constructed and mercilessly observed novel, part comedy, part thriller, Nina Bawden exposes the fictions we impose on our lives.

While staying with their aunt in an English seaside town, the Mallory children find a secret passage into the mysterious old house next door, where their efforts to help a strange girl lead to trouble and adventure.

Circles of Deceit is narrated by a painter who specialises as a copyist, this is his story: ''bothered by bills and artistic conscience in about equal measure. . .susceptible to, bullied and badgered by women.'' Major figures on the canvas are Clio, his child-bride; Helen, his first wife; his mother Maisie. They confound lies and the truth in a subtle weave, while the silent agony of the painter''s son is a poignant reflection on the busy web of deception. And as the copyist transcribes his modern versions of Old Masters, so the past keeps breaking through the surface of the present, until fact and fiction like art and life, meet in a remarkable conclusion.

''It is a small book, acute, discreet and tender; it is also written with warm care and considerable taste - all qualities too easily overlooked'' KIRKUS REVIEWS ''An exceptional picture of disorganised family life'' OBSERVER ''Bawden is noted too for the sharp sense of humour that edges her tales of middle-class manners and mores towards satire, particularly when it all goes wrong'' GUARDIAN With the ferocity of a mother tiger defending her cubs, fourteen-year-old Emmie Bean watches over her household: her amiable drunken father, her gaunt, evangelical old grandmother, her beautiful, wayward sister Alice and most precious of all, eight-year-old Oliver, who has the countenance of an angel and the ethical sense of a cobra. But with the arrival of new neighbours, the outside world intrudes into the isolated privacy of family life and Emmie''s kingdom is no longer secure. Combining the guile of a young child with the desperation of adolescence, Emmie fights to stave off the changes- and the revelations- that growing up necessarily brings. Powerful, heart-rending, but never sentimental, Tortoise by Candlelight is a captivating excursion into the landscape of youth.

''A sophisticated comedy, hugely enjoyable'' MAIL ON SUNDAY ''A gently entertaining tale of summer love and Brits abroad'' HARPERS AND QUEEN ''The story proceeds at a cracking pace and has an ending that is as delicious as unexpected'' JULIA FLYNN, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH Amy thought the Hotel Parthenon in Greece would be a nice change for her husband, Labour Minister Tom Jones who is recovering from an operation. He is convinced that it''s a bad idea as soon as they arrive and he spots Portia, his redheaded ex-mistress, in the minibus to the hotel. Then they receive a surprise visit from Tom''s father. Also on board is an American publisher, a young doctor, a shady pair from London and two enigmatic, elderly twins. This book is a wonderful comedy reminiscent of A Midsummer''s Night Dream, where the most unlikely people fall in and out of love. A Nice Change is classic Nina Bawden.

Leaving one''s husband is not an easy thing to do, particularly after many years of comfortable married life. Penelope''s sudden decision to leave Eddie causes her to analyze her life in a way hitherto unknown to her. The fact that Penelope has, on this very same day, received threats to her life complicates the situation yet further.

''A born story-teller'' INDEPENDENT ''Nina Bawden has always presented such ingratiating characters that you wonder, distantly, at her interest in Anna'' KIRKUS REVIEWS ''Throughout her career Bawden has concentrated on the careful depiction of character, feelings and behaviour'' GUARDIAN Who is Anna? Is she Anna-May Gates, the war-time evacuee who encounters neglect and unwitting abuse on a Welsh farm? The reticent, dutiful daughter of her foster-mother, Crystal? Giles''s shy child-bride? Conscientious mother and housewife? Or Daniel''s undemanding but sophisticated mistress? It takes catastrophe for Anna to emerge as an individual, claiming her own identity. Nina Bawden, as ever both acute and generous, delves skilfully into character and offers the richly textured story of a woman''s life and stratagems, and of the flawed, kindly people who surround her.

Nine-year-old Phillip has always lived with his grandmother, but when his widowed father remarries he finds that he must suddenly adjust to a new way of life with his father and stepmother.

Accidents happen to other people. But on On May 10th 2002, Nina Bawden discovered what it feels like to be one of the ''other people''. It was to be a lovely outing to Cambridge for a friend''s birthday party. Nina Bawden and her husband Austen Kark boarded the 12:45 from Kings Cross and settled down with their books and papers. A few minutes later the train derailed. Seven people were killed and 76 badly hurt. Nina Bawden was gravely injured and Austen was killed instantly. In this powerful and poignant letter to her husband, Nina Bawden uses her considerable writing skills to try and make sense of it all. She explains how she - now in her late 70s - found herself the outspoken spokesperson for the survivors of the crash, interviewed here and abroad and even one of the characters portrayed in David Hare''s The Permanent Way. Although liability has finally been admitted, as of October 2004, there has been no resolution to this tragedy, nor a public enquiry into how it happened.

''The reader is thoroughly entranced and entertained'' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT ''Among the most perceptive and accomplished novelists writing today'' P. D. JAMES ''There''s a speck of surprise on most every page'' KIRKUS REVIEWS After an expensive dinner on their thirteenth wedding anniversary, James calmly announces that he wishes to leave Bridie. A cherished adopted child, she stepped into marriage - and a pet name - at the age of nineteen and has nurtured two step-children and a daughter. The habit of protecting others is strong is Bridie but now, redundant and with her happiness turned into a charade, she is uncertain of her identity. Unless she reclaims a portion of her past, Bridie fears she will have no future. The mysteries and consequences of Bridie''s adoption form the bedrock of this enticing and skilfully woven novel. Here, with her characteristic wit and acuity, Nina Bawden peers into the familiar passions of family life, remembered insults, ancient scars and old deceptions.

Social comedy about the manners and morals of the well-meaning in an acquisitive society. By the author of C̀ircles of deceit''.

The memoirs of this novelist, in which she takes the reader through her life and reveals the origins and inspirations of her books.

A retelling of the story of William Tell, who shot an apple from his son''s head and ultimately was responsible for the formation of the country of Switzerland.