Elspeth Barker

WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION FROM MAGGIE O'FARRELL Vera was painting the pony's hooves gold in the dining room; Janet said this was bad for him; poison would seep into his bloodstream. At the bottom of a great stone staircase, dressed in her mother's black lace evening dress, twisted in murderous death, lies Janet. So end the sixteen years of Janet's...

'This book is heaven. Elspeth Barker writes like no one else' — Olivia Laing In Notes from the Henhouse, you will find a Gothic castle, a draughty Norfolk farmhouse and a malevolent Aga. A pet pig, Portia, with a penchant for drama, an obsession with geraniums and an addiction to wine (the Bulgarian vintage). George Barker, poet and beloved husband,...

A sparky, funny work of genius Ali Smith At the bottom of a great stone staircase, dressed in her mother's black lace evening dress, twisted in murderous death, lies Janet. So end the sixteen years of Janet's short life. A life spent in a draughty Scottish castle, where roses will not grow, and a jackdaw decides to live in the...

'This book is heaven. Elspeth Barker writes like no one else' OLIVIA LAING 'Deserves to be permanently on the bedside table - to cheer, reassure and inspire' OBSERVER 'Gothic, poetic and exuberantly funny. What a pleasure it was to read' ESTHER FREUD 'Joyous, startling, funny, lush, dark and complex' THE TIMES In Notes from the Henhouse, you will find: A...