Author:Terry Ronald
For David Starr, being cast as Nancy in the upcoming school production of Oliver! is quite a shock. But David is up to the challenge. Living in a three-bedroom semi in 1970s' working-class East Dulwich, surrounded by his somewhat colourful relatives, he is bright, smart-mouthed, fanatical about pop music and ready to shine. Rehearsals begin, and he strikes up a friendship with the handsome yet enigmatic Maxie Boswell, captain of the school football team. As their alliance deepens it appears they might become more than just good friends, but that can't be right, can it?
Discovering a confidant in empathetic teacher, Hamish McClarnon, and spurred on by his no-nonsense best friend, Frances Bassey, David takes on the school bully, the National Front, and anyone else who threatens to stand in the way of true love.
Vibrant, warm, and full of life, this uproarious and touching coming-of-age novel, set against the backdrop of South-East London in the thrill of the late seventies, will transport you straight back to your first music obsession and the highs and lows of your first love.
Endorsed by the likes of the Minogue sisters and Gypsy Boy author Mickey Walsh, this semi-autobiographical novel... promises all manner of original characters, sharp observations about growing up, fast wisecracks and nostalgic musical references
—— AttitudeThe Moggacch miracle continues- here's another vivid, gripping yarn from the author of Tulip Fever... with a plot as twisty as a mountain road
—— The TimesThis wartime novel of ordinary Londoners is atmospheric and buzzing with electricity... a spirited portrait of lives thrown into turmoil by the Great War
—— Daily ExpressLike the recent novels by Ian McEwan and Sarah Waters, In the Dark successfully modernises the past. By focusing on life's murkier undercurrents... the characters come to seem appealingly familiar
—— Sophia Harrison , Sunday TimesA thoughtful diligent writer
—— Sunday TelegraphDeborah Moggach's affection for her compex, damaged characters shines through the dark setting in this tender, funny and unsettling book
—— The GlossThe details of life in an Edwardian household are researched to perfection
—— Scotland on SundayThe great joy of this tender little novel is Deborah Moggach's sensory imagination
—— GuardianThe characterisation is superb, Moggach has brilliantly resurrected a world of genteel penury and intense, furtive sex, and the book exudes quiet excellence
—— Mail on SundayMaupin remains a great storyteller, a magnificently unrepentant liberal, and a wise, witty observer of the differences which make us human
—— Sunday TelegraphA creepy tale….set in a country house awash with secrets and strange happenings
—— Bella magazineShe takes relish in recreating a familiar Edwardian landscape, peopled by eligible cads and imperious dowagers... Jones’s highly combustible period piece makes the dramas at Downton look like a stroll in the park
—— Emma Hagestadt , IndependentDarkly humorous, quirky and engrossing, this is a ghostly tale full of twists and turns
—— Choice MagazineWhat a delicious read! Like something written by a wicked Jane Austen, here is love and error in a ramshackle manor house complete with railway survivors, a birthday party and a pony. I was completely captivated by its madcap nature and then, utterly unprepared for the strange fruit that the story became. Passing like a spring fever, here is a fairy tale that stays with you long after it is gone. I couldn't put it down
—— SARAH BLAKE, author of The PostmistressThe Uninvited Guests is at once a shimmering comedy of manners and disturbing commentary on class. It is so well-written, so intricately plotted, that every page delivers some new astonishment. It is a brilliant novel
—— ANN PATCHETT, author of State of WonderWhat opens as an amusing Edwardian country house tale soon becomes a sinister tragi-comedy of errors, in which the dark underbelly of human nature is revealed in true Shakespearean fashion. Sadie Jones is a most talented and imaginative storyteller, and The Uninvited Guests is a very clever novel
—— JACQUELINE WINSPEAR, author of Elegy for EddieI will be surprised if I read anything stranger this year but I can’t help admiring Jones’s whimsical invention and the quality of her writing
—— Vanessa Berridge , Daily ExpressA modern Mitford saga
—— ASOS MagazineAward-winning Sadie Jones' third novel is her best yet. Hugely enjoyable with a superb, supernatural twist
—— TabletCooly playful...the luscious prose is precisely steered
—— Helen Dunmore , GuardianAn intelligent and poignant reflection on death and loss… a fabulous read
—— Lesley Mc Dowell , Glasgow Sunday HeraldSadie Jones…enters new literary territory with a whimsical Edwardian farce that takes its lead from the darker offerings of Saki and JB Priestley...The novel's denouement is satisfyingly outlandish
—— Emma Hagestadt , IndependentWith elegant ease, Jones spins a good old-fashioned comedy of manners
—— Katie Owen , Sunday TelegraphAndrew Motion brings lyricism but, more importantly, rollicking adventure to this sequel to Treasure Island
—— Mail on Sunday