Quercus
Quercus
Quercus
The final instalment in the diaries of Marie Sharp, the Bridget Jones for the SAGA generation - still growing old disgracefully.
Marie is turning 69 this year, but there are no signs of her slowing down - she has a new male lodger (very into conspiracy theories), an intractable iPhone to wrestle with, and a trip to India to plan!
As usual the year brings plenty of challenges as well as opportunities. Marie is burgled, which sends the street into uproar. Ex-husband David is still around and getting rather too close for comfort. Marie's cat Pouncer is starting to look rather peaky (her conspiracy-theorist lodger is convinced someone is poisoning him), and probably worst of all, it seems her grandson Gene is getting too old to want to hang out with his granny any more. Maybe learning to graffiti and speak street slang will help win him back?
Full of Virginia Ironside's inimitable wit and featuring plenty of popular characters from this series, this is a hilarious and touching look at getting older from one of Britain's best observers of relationships.
Reminiscent of the great Sue Townsend . . . a combination of unpretentiousness, generosity and piercing insight - Daily Mail
Witty and affectionate, wise but never pious, this is a delightfully irreverent look at growing older - The Spectator (on No! I Don't Need Reading Glasses!)
Funny, often agonisingly sad - and familiar - The Lady (on No! I Don't Need Reading Glasses)
The latest, and best, of Ironside's wonderful series . . . full of hilarious truths - Daily Mail on (No! I Don't Need Reading Glasses)
[Ironside's] chatty style of writing is endearing, her escapades laugh-out-loud funny, her thoughts and feelings often poignant [and] her observations pin sharp - Choice Magazine on (No! I Don't Need Reading Glasses)
Wonderful, hilarious, warm-hearted ... Ironside is a comic genius and Marie Sharp a brilliant creation. If life is getting you down, this is the book for you - Daily Mail (Summer Reading round-up)
Virginia Ironside is best known as one of Britain's leading agony aunts. She started on WOMAN magazine before moving to THE SUNDAY MIRROR and TODAY newspapers. She now writes a weekly column for THE INDEPENDENT. She also appears regularly on radio and television on such programmes as Radio 4's 'Woman's Hour'. Her many books include self-help titles on subjects such as bereavement, as well as the children's spooky adventure series BURLAP HALL.