The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories

The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories

Summary

'You are in the hands of a master' Daily Mail

'Thoughtful, intelligent and light of touch... Lively has the gift, rare and wonderful, of being able to peel back the layers one by one and set them before us, translucent and gleaming.' Sunday Telegraph



A dream house that is hiding something sinister; two women having lunch who share a husband; an old woman doing her weekly supermarket shop with a secret past that no one could guess; a couple who don't know each other at all even after fifteen years together; and, in the story from which this collection takes its name, a bird and a servant girl in ancient Pompeii who cannot converse, but share a perfect understanding.

In this new and varied collection of short stories, Penelope Lively shows that she remains a master of her craft, and one of our finest English writers.

Reviews

  • Carefully thought-out stories. . . Patterns of interaction between past and present are sounded out to good effect.
    Sunday Times

About the author

Penelope Lively

Penelope Lively is the author of many prize-winning novels and short-story collections for both adults and children. She has twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize: once in 1977 for her first novel, The Road to Lichfield, and again in 1984 for According to Mark. She later won the 1987 Booker Prize for her highly acclaimed novel Moon Tiger. She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award. She was appointed CBE in the 2001 New Year's Honours List, and DBE in 2012. Penelope Lively lives in London.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more