On the Summerhouse Steps

Dec 1, 2025 6:16 AM

Author:Anne Fine

Ione Muffett is alone in the summerhouse when she meets Ned Hump - a wacky student who is in love with her professor father's secretary, Caroline. In a zany and uninhibited twenty-four hours, Ione helps bring the two together, culminating in a wonderfully anarchic picnic. And as Ned then helps Ione with her plan to help famine victims by running a bring and buy sale, Ione's confidence in herself slowly begins to grow . . .

Reviews

Extraordinary and hilarious events

—— Guardian

Mischievous, inventive and very funny

—— TLS

The dialogue crackles . . . Full of energy and wit

—— TES

If you're feeling low, this book'll cheer you up big time

—— Mizz

This book will get drawn all over and it will be absolutely adored. It hugely encourages a child’s creativity and really brings books to life

—— Becky Goddard-Hill , family-budgeting.co.uk

This is a brave and successful attempt to help readers understand a complex, topical situation in our real world

—— The Bookseller

Thought-provoking book with sensitivity, wit and warmth . . . Its admirable message comes wrapped in a fast-paced and exciting adventure story populated with well-rounded characters

—— Irish Times

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