Stories by Costa Award Shortlisted author of MEET ME AT THE MUSEUM

The Six Who Came to Dinner

ANNE YOUNGSON is the author of the Costa First Book Award-shortlisted Meet Me at the Museum; BBC Radio Book Club pick, Three Women and a Boat and the story collection, The Six Who Came to Dinner. Anne Youngson's shrewd, warm-hearted and observational prose has been widely praised. Her new novel, A Complicated Matter explores the human heart through the coming-of-age of a young English refugee during the blitz. Anne's work is published around the world. She lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and has three grandchildren.

'An extraordinary new writer' NINA STIBBE 
 
Six short stories full of colourful suspects and complicated motives by the winner of the Paul Torday Memorial prize for debut authors over sixty - perfect for fans of grisly mysteries set in the English countryside 
 
The village cleaning lady who holds everyone's house-keys opens a boot to find some unexpected baggage; a vengeful dinner party host serves more than just a roast to her six guests; hairdresser chat is not just idle gossip as an old man with a history gets a trim; driven to distraction by his new young wife, a man resorts to two grisly acts, in a gripping re-imagining of a famous Irish ballad. 
 
Ripping away the polite façade of small communities, these stories reveal the roiling emotions and frustration that can lead seemingly ordinary people to do bad things. Rich in compassion, pathos and humour, Anne Youngson offers us her dark take on human foibles, pettiness and rivalry in this sparkling, unputdownable collection.

A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Title

Three Women and a Boat

The warm, life-affirming BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick

A joyful journey of self-discovery and unexpected friendship for fans of Rachel Joyce's HAROLD FRY, Clare Chambers' SMALL PLEASURES and Barbara Pym classics

A gentle meander down England's waterways with bittersweet charm

A tender story of friendship amidst the challenges and glory of canal-boat life

Gentle and charming. A chance to think about what really matters

Anne Youngson's witty and elegant novel is a celebration of friendship and a timely reminder that it is never too late to take on a daunting (but life-changing) new challenge

Tender and humorous novel of second chances and life-changing new friendship for fans of Rachel Joyce, Clare Chambers and Barbara Pym 
 
'Life-affirming and funny' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 
'Anne Youngson's witty and elegant novel is a celebration of friendship and a timely reminder that it is never too late to take on a life-changing new challenge' DAILY MAIL 
 
Meet Eve, who has departed from her thirty-year career to become a Free Spirit; Sally, who has waved goodbye to her indifferent husband and two grown-up children; and Anastasia, a defiantly independent narrowboat-dweller, suddenly vulnerable as she awaits a life-saving operation. 
 
Inexperienced and ill-equipped, Sally and Eve embark upon a journey through the canals of England, guided by the remote and unsympathetic Anastasia. As they glide gently - and not so gently - through the countryside, the eccentricities and challenges of canalboat life draw them inexorably together, and a tender and unforgettable story unfolds. 
 
Disarmingly truthful and narrated with a rare wit, THREE WOMEN AND A BOAT is a journey over the glorious waterways of England and into the unfathomable depths of the human heart by an inspirational new talent now in her seventies. 
 
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What customers are saying: 
 
'Moving, tender and just a balm for the soul' ***** 
'Perfect for those in need of an uplifting read' **** 
'A warm and enjoyable read' *****

Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award 2018

Meet Me at the Museum

'A moving tribute to friendship and love, to the courage of the ordinary, and to starting again' RACHEL JOYCE

Exquisite. Its characters somehow resist following their story and reverse themselves into a new one. A beautiful lasting read.

JAMES HANNAH, author of THE A TO Z OF YOU AND ME

Insightful, emotionally acute and absorbing

A moving tribute to friendship and love, to the courage of the ordinary, and to starting again.

‘Tender, wise and moving, Meet Me at the Museum is a novel to cherish.’

A thoughtful and gentle meditation on buried passions, regrets, love, grief and loneliness . . . Youngson’s debut offers hope for change in its tender exploration of what it means to have experienced a life well-lived.

The loveliest short novel of late love you'll ever read. Whenever I talk about it, I simply cry with joy

Quietly intriguing, beautifully observed, full of powerful emotions

RUTH HOGAN, Author of The Keeper of Lost Things

I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone looking for a book that makes you think and wonder and quietly hope. Loved it.

A quirky, wise and tender novel.  Proof that the richest fruits come on the edge of autumn

Warm-hearted, clear-minded, and unexpectedly spellbinding, Meet Me at the Museum is a novel to savour

ANNIE BARROWS, co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

A beautiful, affecting novel of late love, by an extraordinary new writer

Precise, clear, funny, poignant and truthful. This is a work of art, dear readers. 
Revel in its beauty

Intriguing and compelling, Meet Me at the Museum invites you into the meeting place between two people, imparting wisdom, thought, and endless charm.

JENNIFER RYAN, author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir

A correspondence that begins with a search for clarity becomes something much deeper and richer - both for the two main characters, and for the reader. 
Anne Youngson peels away the layers that prevent us from living the lives we ought to be leading, and her book is both tender and absorbing.

LISSA EVANS, author of Their Finest Hour and a Half

Full of emotion, wisdom and honesty, the story envelops the reader in a celebration of true friendship and an appreciation of the opportunities that life can unexpectedly present. This book makes you realise that life is too short and that the future can be more hopeful than we anticipate. 
If you only read one book this year, read this. Highly recommended

An insightful and emotional debut … tenderly hints at second chances and rejuvenation

Full of funny, wise perceptions. The author is 70. This lovely novel is her debut. When's the next?

Absolutely beautiful, about loss and the life choices we make

I thought the author wrote the content of the letters absolutely beautifully, making the characters jump off the page.

I love books like this, that you can immerse yourself in and enjoy as a treat – books that just hold you in their spell.

Tina and Anders will capture your heart and you will root for them all the way. A very accomplished debut by Anne Youngson.

There is a sensitivity and warmth throughout that I found utterly charming.

It was beautifully crafted and once I had the book open I didn't close it until I had read the last page.

This book touched me to the heart – quite beautiful and exceptionally moving, and one of the very best books I’ve read this year.

When the book finished, I felt an immense sadness that I had to say goodbye to these two people.

I loved the setting and the characters were great, it was a pleasure to read.

Few books ever have that much impact on me and I feel this is something that everyone needs to experience.

A beautiful, lyrical love story, played out with words and paper.

Top Holiday Reads - BEST FOR SALVING THE SOUL

**As read on BBC Radio Four** 
 
Uplifting, joyous, hopeful - a novel about late love and second chances, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and winner of the Paul Torday Memorial Prize 
 
'A moving tribute to friendship and love, to the courage of the ordinary, and to starting again' RACHEL JOYCE, author of Miss Benson's Beetle 
'Full of grace and humanity' Sunday Times 
________________________ 
 
This story begins with a letter 
From a housewife 
to the gentle curator 
Of an extraordinary museum 
Where lies peacefully 
An ancient exhibit 
That holds the key 
To Everything 
We are. 
 
Meet Me at the Museum tells of a connection made across oceans and against all the odds. Through intimate stories of joy, despair, and discovery, two people are drawn inexorably towards each other, until a shattering revelation pushes their friendship to the very edge. 
 
This deeply affecting debut novel by seventy-three year-old Anne Youngson won the Paul Torday Memorial Prize and was dramatized on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour 
 
******************************* 
'Tender, wise and moving, Meet Me at the Museum is a novel to cherish.' JOHN BOYNE 
 
'Insightful, emotionally acute and absorbing' DAILY EXPRESS 
 
'Beautiful and affecting' NINA STIBBE 
 
What readers are saying: 
'I loved this book. It was so different from anything else I have read'***** 
'I just loved this book and read it in one sitting. There were times when I felt like underlining the sentences that resonated with me'***** 
'I read this book one letter at a time, just to let the contents sink in. Tears came to my eyes'*****

Anne Youngson

A tender, often wry novel, rendered with impressive period authenticity

Skilful, understated. Comes compellingly to life

Note-perfect. Like a forgotten classic republished by Persephone Books or Virago

A touching story full of love and humanity

A beautiful story of love and belonging

Set against the Blitz in London, a young woman's extraordinary journey of self-discovery and an intimate meditation on what it takes to find our place in the world. 
 
A March Best Book in Red 
 
'NOTE PERFECT' East Riding Magazine 
'AN EXTRAORDINARY NEW WRITER' Nina Stibbe 
 
I used to believe the world had been created for me; every stone and grain of sand. As I grew older, I began to think of myself as something tacked on to the edge. 
 
1939, London: From McPhail's Passage to Kensington's Grand Palace Hotel, Rose Dunbar is evacuated from her humble home on the Rock of Gibraltar and dropped into a chaotic city of falling bombs, perplexing class rules and bad weather. Despite being 'flagrantly foreign' to the locals, she becomes an efficient go-between for the upper-class ladies helping out with the war effort and her own tribe of noisy displaced families. 
 
It is only when she is shifted to the countryside to become secretary to the plain-speaking and sightless Major Inchbold that Rose's dizzying journey to womanhood will become more surreal than ever, as she drinks tea at the vicarage and stands up for the lower orders. But Rose's greatest dilemma is yet to come, as she must decide where her home - and her heart - really lies. 
 
In Anne Youngson's wry and sublimely understated prose, this unique and beautiful story of love, class and belonging is also a profound and intimate meditation on what it takes to find our place in the world. 
 
******************************* 
Praise for ANNE YOUNGSON: 
 
'Tender, wise and moving, Meet Me at the Museum is a novel to cherish.' JOHN BOYNE 
'Insightful, emotionally acute and absorbing' DAILY EXPRESS 
'Beautiful and affecting' NINA STIBBE 
 
Readers love Anne Youngson's novels: 
'I was utterly gripped and felt bereft when I'd finished it' ***** 
'I could not put this book down. An inspired approach to writing about life and love' ***** 
'One of my top ten best reads of the year'*****

Anne Youngson

Praise for A Complicated Matter

A tender, often wry novel, rendered with impressive period authenticity

Skilful, understated. Comes compellingly to life

Note-perfect. Like a forgotten classic republished by Persephone Books or Virago

A tender, often wry novel, rendered with impressive period authenticity

Skilful, understated. Comes compellingly to life

Note-perfect. Like a forgotten classic republished by Persephone Books or Virago

A tender, often wry novel, rendered with impressive period authenticity

Skilful, understated. Comes compellingly to life

Note-perfect. Like a forgotten classic republished by Persephone Books or Virago

Books by Anne Youngson

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