The Millstone

Winner of John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, The Millstone is a radical celebration of the mother-child relationship.

It is the Swinging Sixties, and Rosamund Stacey is young and inexperienced at a time when sexual liberation is well on its way. She conceals her ignorance beneath a show of independence, and becomes pregnant as a result of a one-night stand. Although single parenthood is still not socially acceptable, she chooses to have the baby rather than to seek an illegal abortion, and finds her life transformed by motherhood.

'I have learned so much from Margaret Drabble's work. Her proseis very beautiful, very funny, and at the same time very serious.Novels like The Millstone and Jerusalem the Golden have helpedme to understand what great writing can be' - Sally Rooney