An Academic Question

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What to expect

INTRODUCED BY KATE SAUNDERS

'I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym' RICHARD OSMAN

'My favourite writer . . . I pick up her books with joy' JILLY COOPER

'Beneath the gentle surfaces of her novels is a slow-building comedy, salt wit in a saline drip' NEW YORK TIMES

In a provincial university town, Caro Grimstone, a dissatisfied faculty wife, becomes the unwilling accomplice to her husband Alan's ambitions. When she volunteers to read to a blind, esteemed anthropologist in a nursing home, Alan seizes the opportunity to steal his papers - research that could both advance his reputation while refuting the findings of a respected colleague. A delightful comedy of manners with a touch of mystery, An Academic Question is prime Barbara Pym territory.

Critics Review

Beneath the gentle surfaces of her novels is a slow-building comedy, salt wit in a saline drip
New York Times
My favourite writer . . . I pick up her books with joy
Jilly Cooper
She is the rarest of treasures; she reminds us of the heartbreaking silliness of everyday life
ANNE TYLER
I am a huge fan of Barbara Pym
RICHARD OSMAN
A splendid humorous writer
John Betjeman
A modern Jane Austen
Alexander McCall Smith
There is a thrill of humanity through all her work
Shirley Hazzard

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