Authors on local libraries for Penguin 2019

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Features

How my local library changed my life

Grandmothers

The new novel from Salley Vickers, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Librarian 
 
'Heart-warming... Grandmothers is a beautifully written and moving celebration of this love, too often unsung, that reaches out across the generations' The Times 
 
Grandmothers is the story of three very different women and their relationship with the younger generation: fiercely independent Nan, who leads a secret life as an award-winning poet when she is not teaching her grandson Billy how to lie; glamorous Blanche, deprived of the company of her beloved granddaughter Kitty by her hostile daughter-in-law, who finds solace in rebelliously taking to drink and shop lifting; and shy, bookish Minna who in the safety of shepherd's hut shares with her surrogate granddaughter Rose her passion for reading. The outlook of all three women subtly alters when through their encounters with each other they discover that the past is always with us and that we go on learning and changing until the very end. 
 
Grandmothers is a beautifully observed, sometimes subversive, often tender and elegiac novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Librarian. 
 
'A fond portrait of what it is to love a child, both yours and not... a tonic for the overlooked modern grandmother' Sunday Times 
 
'Vickers sees with a clear eye and writes with a light hand. She's a presence worth cherishing in the ranks of modern novelists' Philip Pullman

A fond portrait of what it is to love a child, both yours and not... a tonic for the overlooked modern grandmother

Vickers sees with a clear eye and writes with a light hand. She's a presence worth cherishing in the ranks of modern novelists

Vickers writes of relationships with undaunted clarity

No one can dig down into the shrouded recesses of the human heart quite as forensically as Vickers

The Librarian will wring the heart of anyone who fell in love with books as a child. It is a hymn to the power of literature...delightful

A nostalgic treat...involving and hopeful

Salley Vickers is the author of many acclaimed novels including the best-selling Miss Garnet's Angel, Mr Golightly's Holiday, The Other Side of You and The Cleaner of Chartres (Viking 2012) and two short story collections, the latest The Boy Who Could See Death (Viking 2015). She has worked as a cleaner, a dancer, a teacher of children with special needs, a university lecturer and a psychoanalyst. She now writes and lectures full time. Find out more at www.salleyvickers.com or @SalleyVickers.

Grandmothers is the story of three very different women and their relationship with the younger generation: fiercely independent Nan, who leads a secret life as an award-winning poet when she is not teaching her grandson Billy how to lie; glamorous Blanche, deprived of the company of her beloved granddaughter Kitty by her hostile daughter-in-law, who finds solace in rebellious drinking and shoplifting; and shy, bookish Minna who in the safety of shepherd's hut shares with her surrogate granddaughter Rose her passion for reading. The outlook of all three women subtly alters when through their encounters with each other they discover that the past is always with us and that we go on learning and changing until the very end.

The Top 10 Sunday Times Bestseller

The Librarian

*A Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller* 
 
'Vickers sees with a clear eye and writes with a light hand; she's a presence worth cherishing in the ranks of modern novelists.' Philip Pullman 
 
In 1958, Sylvia Blackwell, fresh from one of the new post-war Library Schools, takes up a job as children's librarian in a run down library in the market town of East Mole. 
 
Her mission is to fire the enthusiasm of the children of East Mole for reading. But her love affair with the local married GP, and her befriending of his precious daughter, her neighbour's son and her landlady's neglected grandchild, ignite the prejudices of the town, threatening her job and the very existence of the library with dramatic consequences for them all. 
 
The Librarian is a moving testament to the joy of reading and the power of books to change and inspire us all. 
 
'Underneath the delightful patina of nostalgia for post-War England, there are stern and spiky questions about why we are allowing our children to be robbed of their heritage of story.' Frank Cottrell Boyce 
 
'Vickers has a formidable knack for laying open the human heart' Sunday Times

Excellent... a period tale of sentimental education, it's deliciously readable, with a clever epilogue zooming into the present day for a last gasp surprise

This beautifully crafted novel is a tribute to the power of books

The Librarian will wring the heart of anyone who fell in love with books as a child. It is a hymn to the power of children's literature...delightful

Vickers lays bare the inner workings of one family, possibly every family, with an often disconcerting clarity

Vickers' real skill as a story teller is in allowing each distinct voice to contribute to a complete, or as complete as can be, picture of one family... the pace gathers, making for a deeply poignant climax

Salley Vickers is the author of many novels, including Miss Garnet's Angel, The Cleaner of Chartres and Cousins. She has worked as a teacher of children with special needs, a university teacher of literature and a psychoanalyst. She now writes fulltime and divides her time between London and Wiltshire. She attributes such success as she has achieved in life to an early love of reading.

In 1958, Sylvia Blackwell, a newly-trained librarian, takes up the post of Children's Librarian in a run down library in the market town of East Mole. But her project to inspire the local children to read is threatened by undercurrents of prejudice in the seemingly pleasant town. Her position is also affected by her love affair with a married GP. The relationship his precocious daughter forms with the son of Sylvia's neighbour, and a deprived child struggling to pass the impending eleven plus, puts Sylvia's job and the existence of the library in danger. 
 
How do the children fare as a result of the books Sylvia introduces them to? And how does the library alter the children's lives?

The Cleaner of Chartres

A beautiful, beguiling novel from the bestselling author of The Librarian and Grandmothers 
 
'A lovely book . . . wise at heart and filled with colourful characters' Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat 
 
A compelling story of darkness and light, of traumatic loss and second chances, The Cleaner of Chartres tells of the mysterious and elusive Agnes Morel whose little acts of kindness around a rural French cathedral touch the lives of others with consequences both good and ill. But when her tragic past is exposed, Agnes must face up to the truth of her origins. 
 
'Salley Vickers sees with a clear eye and writes with a light hand and she knows how the world works. She's a presence worth cherishing' Philip Pullman 
 
'A rich weave of loss and redemption . . . magic and mystery' Observer, Book of the Year

Salley Vickers sees with a clear eye and writes with a light hand and she knows how the world works. She's a presence worth cherishing

Beautifully and brilliantly controlled. A triumph

John Julius Norwich on Miss Garnet's Angel

Reveals itself as a surprising exploration of the mysteries of imagination and faith

Book of the Year, Daily Telegraph on Miss Garnet's Angel

Subtle and utterly joyous...a contemporary moral and psychological drama every bit as absorbing as Miss Garnet's Angel

The Cleaner of Chartres is a return to form

The Cleaner of Chartres touches lightly on the seedy side of human nature

A magical and at times sinister story about love, loss, secrets and forgiveness...with Chocolat-type charm

If you're looking for a book to take you by surprise, Salley Vickers' latest is the perfect choice

There is something special about the ancient cathedral of Chartres, with its mismatched spires, astonishing stained glass and strange labyrinth. And there is something special too about Agnès Morel, the mysterious woman who is to be found cleaning it each morning. 
 
No one quite knows where she came from - not the diffident Abbé Paul, who discovered her one morning twenty years ago, sleeping in the north porch; nor lonely Professor Jones, whose chaotic existence she helps to organise; nor Philippe Nevers, whose neurotic sister and newborn child she cares for; nor even the irreverent young restorer, Alain Fleury, who works alongside her each day and whose attention she catches with her tawny eyes, her colourful clothes and elusive manner. And yet everyone she encounters would surely agree that she is subtly transforming their lives, even if they couldn't quite say how. 
 
But with a chance meeting in the cathedral one day, the spectre of Agnès' past returns, provoking malicious rumours from the prejudiced Madame Beck and her gossipy companion Madame Picot. As the hearsay grows uglier, Agnès is forced to confront her history, and the mystery of her origins finally unfolds. 
 
The Cleaner of Chartres is a compelling story of darkness and light; of traumatic loss and second chances. Told with a sparkling wit and captivating charm, but infused throughout with deeper truths, it speaks of the power of love and mercy to transform the tragedies of the past.

Cousins

From the bestselling author of THE LIBRARIAN 
 
How much can love ask of us? 
 
Brilliant and mercurial Will Tye suffers a life changing accident. The terrible event ripples through three generations of the complex and eccentric Tye family, bringing to light old tragedies and dangerous secrets. Each member of the family holds some clue to the chain of events which may have led to the accident and each holds themselves to blame. Most closely affected is Will's cousin Cecelia, whose affinity with Will leaves her most vulnerable to his suffering and whose own life is for ever changed by how she will respond to it. 
 
Told through the eyes of three women close to Will, his sister, his grandmother and his aunt, Cousins is a novel weaving darkness and light which takes us from the outbreak of World War Two to the present day, exploring the recurrence of tragedy, the nature of trangression, and the limits of morality and love. 
 
'A wonderful book. Salley Vickers spins a spellbinding account of a family in distress' Elizabeth Strout

Utterly compelling... Cousins is a remarkable book about the strange tact and terrors of family life and the histories that haunt it

Vickers has a formidable knack for laying open the human heart... a layered family drama

Each distinct voice in this complex pattern of relationships is presented with deep empathy and clarity, so that you feel a real three-dimensional quality in the characters.  The most painful ethical dilemmas are laid out with compassion and without manipulation.  A serious, mature book that is also compellingly enjoyable

A wonderful book. Salley Vickers spins a spellbinding account of a family in distress

A story of secrets, lies and history is elegantly handled... She lays bare the inner workings of one family, possibly every family, with an often disconcerting clarity

If you're a fan of Marilynne Robinson (the Pulitzer-prize winning author of Gilead), you'll love this...a dark and gritty read

This is a highly charged novel you'll find hard to put down...The novel raises important issues about motherhood and family connections, and examines the survivor's guilt felt by many of the characters that helps to drive the painful resolution

Vickers ponders undercurrents that swirl down the ages...Vickers commitment to the realism required by fictional memoir...a fascinating exploration of the often equivocal and always cryptic nature of family love

One of our best women writers...Cousins is a towering tale of three generations of the Tye family, spanning 70 years

Salley Vickers sees with a clear eye and writes with a light hand. She's a presence worth cherishing

Philip Pullman on 'The Cleaner of Chartres'

Sunday Times on 'The Cleaner of Chartres'

A magical and at times sinister story about love, loss, secrets and forgiveness

Scotland on Sunday on 'The Cleaner of Chartres'

John Julius Norwich on 'Miss Garnet's Angel'

Will Tye, a teenage boy from a middle-class, suburban family, develops his first intense crush on a girl. But this familiar love story has a dark twist - the girl is his own cousin Cecelia. News of the infatuation spreads through generations of the complex and eccentric Tye family, leaving ripples of resentment and disquiet. When Will experiences a life-changing accident, Cecelia is the most closely affected by his suffering - and her own life is forever changed by how she will respond to it. 
 
Told through the eyes of three women close to Will, his sister, his grandmother and his aunt, Cousins takes us from the outbreak of the Second World War to the present day, exploring the recurrence of tragedy, the nature of transgression, and the limits of morality and love.

The Message from Lindisfarne

'A wonderful book. Salley Vickers spins a spellbinding account of a family in distress' Elizabeth Strout on 'Cousins' 
 
Spring, 1918. Nine-year-old Charlotte Tye wakes up unusually early the night before her brother's wedding, and steals out down the familiar track leading from her house to the seashore. There, she meets a local man, standing alone amid the eider ducks, who carries a mysterious message for her... 
 
Read more about three generations of the Tye family from the First World War to the present day in the first two chapters of Salley Vickers' powerful new novel, 'Cousins', included in this e-book.

A wonderful book. Salley Vickers spins a spellbinding account of a family in distress

Each distinct voice in this complex pattern of relationships is presented with deep empathy and clarity, so that you feel a real three-dimensional quality in the characters. The most painful ethical dilemmas are laid out with compassion and without manipulation. A serious, mature book that is also compellingly enjoyable

The Boy Who Could See Death

From Salley Vickers, bestselling author of Miss Garnet's Angel, comes The Boy Who Could See Death, an enchanting and unsettling collection of short stories. 
 
Eli is an ordinary boy with an extraordinary gift. It will shape the course of his whole life but, he learns the hard way, he must keep it hidden from those who know him best. Seeing death is a mixed blessing. 
 
Eli is not the only one defying the world's expectations of him. Cousin Francesca, a charming spinster and a favourite with the children, is harbouring kleptomaniac tendencies. Sarah Palliser, living alone next to a ramshackle graveyard, is more scared of the small box under her stairs than the ghosts outside her window. Meanwhile dreamy artist Nan is nursing a growing obsession with wolves in Britain and the recently widowed Frances finds herself inventing an exotic imaginary boyfriend to pass the time. 
 
Push through an unassuming front door on an unremarkable street or peer into the glowing fluorescent windows of an urban office block and within you'll find strange and unforgettable scenes, normal people caught in situations they do not quite comprehend... 
 
Salley Vickers is a master of the uncanny and the unexpected. In this collection of eleven remarkable stories, she explores bereavement and betrayal, closely guarded secrets and common gossip, long-overdue endings and decidedly strange beginnings. Each story is perfectly formed: a snapshot of a total stranger, a fleeting glimpse of lives spiced with a little something extra.

Effortlessly conjures surprises, brilliantly realized, pricelessly entertaining

Tremendous, unsettling, brilliantly creepy

A compelling and often startling collection of stories. Vickers is a storyteller of note and grace

A charming spinster with kleptomaniac tendencies, a wealthy engineer in love with his wife's cleaning lady, a middle-aged woman with an imaginary boyfriend and a homeless man who can foretell death. Scratch the surface of ordinary lives and nothing is quite as it seems. 
 
Salley Vickers' short stories offer fleeting glimpses into strangers' lives. These are normal people teetering on a crisis point, about to be ambushed by an unsought epiphany - or an unwanted home truth. Perfectly crafted, understated yet unforgettable, these tales are, above all, a celebration of the variety, complexity and peculiarity of life.

Salley Vickers

The Gardener is a novel of regrowth &amp; regeneration, of sisters overcoming a toxic parental legacy &amp; of the healing power of seed packets

Steeped in a sense of the redemptive power of place, Sally Vickers's 11th novel is a paean to green-fingered regeneration that is both rigorous and charming

An escapist, involving novel about relationships and two siblings coming to terms with their childhood and each other

With its sensitively drawn characters, this is a quiet and intelligent hymn to the restorative power of nature. Delightful

The bestselling author of Miss Garnet's Angel and The Librarian, Vickers has been a Jungian therapist and her novels have always featured personal growth and transformation. This is no exception, as Hassie weathers bereavement, a 
break-up and midlife despair, but finds a sense of new beginnings and a feeling for the power of place. It also has some sharp social observation about the reality of moving out to the sticks in post-Brexit Britain

Salley Vickers is skilled at transforming the everyday into something haunting. This tale of a woman's search for inner peace is no exception

Profoundly moving, healing and wise, this is the perfect antidote to our urban anxiety

Artist, Hassie Days, and her sister, Margot, buy a run down Jacobean house in Hope Wenlock on the Welsh Marches. While Margot continues her London life in high finance, Hassie is left alone to work the large, long-neglected garden. She is befriended by eccentric, sharp-tongued, Miss Foot, who recommends, Murat, an Albanian migrant, made to feel out of place among the locals, to help Hassie in the garden. 
 
As she works the garden in Murat's peaceful company, Hassie ruminates on her past life: the sibling rivalry that tainted her childhood and the love affair that left her with painful, unanswered questions. But as she begins to explore the history of the house and the mysterious nearby wood, old hurts begin to fade as she experiences the healing power of nature and discovers other worlds. 
 
In her haunting new novel, Salley Vickers, the bestselling author of The Librarian and The Cleaner of Chartres, writes with the profound psychological insight and sense of the numinous power of place that is the hallmark of all her novels.

Salley Vickers

Praise for The Gardener

Salley Vickers sees with a clear eye and writes with a light hand. She's a presence worth cherishing

The Gardener is a novel of regrowth & regeneration, of sisters overcoming a toxic parental legacy & of the healing power of seed packets

Steeped in a sense of the redemptive power of place, Sally Vickers's 11th novel is a paean to green-fingered regeneration that is both rigorous and charming

Salley Vickers sees with a clear eye and writes with a light hand. She's a presence worth cherishing

The Gardener is a novel of regrowth & regeneration, of sisters overcoming a toxic parental legacy & of the healing power of seed packets

Steeped in a sense of the redemptive power of place, Sally Vickers's 11th novel is a paean to green-fingered regeneration that is both rigorous and charming

Salley Vickers sees with a clear eye and writes with a light hand. She's a presence worth cherishing

The Gardener is a novel of regrowth & regeneration, of sisters overcoming a toxic parental legacy & of the healing power of seed packets

Steeped in a sense of the redemptive power of place, Sally Vickers's 11th novel is a paean to green-fingered regeneration that is both rigorous and charming

Books by Salley Vickers

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