The Girls

Two women. One baby. And a man in the sceptic tank. In their lovely Cotswolds village, Janet and Susan are known simply as 'the girls'. Partners in love and work, proprietors of a picturesque shop, they lead an enviably peaceful life. But after one moment of surprising passion, the girls' lives take a deeply unsettling turn. Part-dark comedy, part-crime thriller, part-cosy love story, The Girls will ensure you never look on Middle England quite so quaintly again. 'Startlingly offbeat' Gore Vidal 'Absolutely wicked' Armistead Maupin '[For] those who feel Barbara Pym-ish on some days and Stephen King-ish on others . . . The Girls charms us as only certain tales 'of village life' can' Washington Post

John Bowen (1924-2019) was born in what was then Calcutta, India, before being sent to England at the age of four to be reared by an uncle and aunt. He worked in journalism and advertising while publishing his first novels, including the apocalyptic After the Rain, then began a successful career writing for the stage and for television, including the much-lauded folk-horror "Play for Today" Robin Redbreast (1970).