Alison

'Alisonabsorbed, delighted and moved me with its quiet truthfulness. No shouting, no hatred, no bitterness-just a patient, determined tackling of the eternal question: how can a woman artist fight her way out of the back seat and get behind the wheel?' - Helen Garner

'Subtle and deliciously complicated' - Tessa Hadley

Alison is newly married, barely twenty and struggling to find her place in the world.

A chance encounter with an older artist upturns her life and she forsakes convention and her working-class Dorset roots for the thrumming art scene of London in the late seventies. As the thrill of bohemian romance leads inevitably to disappointment, Alison begins to find her own path - through art, friendship and love.

'This book is a testament to the right to choose your own life' - Jessica Andrews