Pru is on her own. But then, so are plenty of other people. And while the loneliness can be overwhelming, surely she'll find a party somewhere? 'Moggach is at the height of her powers' Sunday Times Pru's husband has walked out, leaving her alone to contemplate her future. She's missing not so much him, but the life they once had - picnicking on the beach with small children, laughing together, nestling up like spoons in the cutlery drawer as they sleep. Now there's just a dip on one side of the bed and no-one to fill it. In a daze, Pru goes off to a friend's funeral. Usual old hymns, words of praise and a eulogy but...it doesn't sound like the friend Pru knew. And it isn't. She's gone to the wrong service. Everyone was very welcoming, it was - oddly - a laugh, and more excitement than she's had for ages. So she buys a little black dress in a charity shop and thinks, now I'm all set, why not go to another? I mean, people don't want to make a scene at a funeral, do they? No-one will challenge her - and what harm can it do? 'Full of warmth and humour, as well as blistering truths' Daily Mirror

Pru is on her own. But then, so are plenty of other people. And while the loneliness can be overwhelming, surely she'll find a party somewhere? 'Moggach is at the height of her powers' Sunday Times Pru's husband has walked out, leaving her alone to contemplate her future. She's missing not so much him, but the life they once had - picnicking on the beach with small children, laughing together, nestling up like spoons in the cutlery drawer as they sleep. Now there's just a dip on one side of the bed and no-one to fill it. In a daze, Pru goes off to a friend's funeral. Usual old hymns, words of praise and a eulogy but...it doesn't sound like the friend Pru knew. And it isn't. She's gone to the wrong service. Everyone was very welcoming, it was - oddly - a laugh, and more excitement than she's had for ages. So she buys a little black dress in a charity shop and thinks, now I'm all set, why not go to another? I mean, people don't want to make a scene at a funeral, do they? No-one will challenge her - and what harm can it do? 'Full of warmth and humour, as well as blistering truths' Daily Mirror

In one new volume, an irresistible collection of stories from two previous works, SMILE and CHANGING BABIES, with additional stories, previously unpublished in book form. 'What informs Moggach's excellent stories is not just the exactness of her observation, but the quality of warmth and affection' Sunday Times From swimming on Hampstead Heath to house-sitting with troublesome dogs, or illicit afternoon trysts in Soho to pedicures in Florence with recalcitrant teenagers, this collection of short stories includes some previously unpublished in book form, and covers the gamut of human nature - our foibles, our loves, our desires, hopes, ambitions and failures. Rich in observation and speckled with a delicious dark humour, FOOL FOR LOVE: THE SELECTED SHORT STORIES confirms Deborah Moggach's place as one of our finest observers of human life. 'I love clever books that make me laugh. Deborah Moggach, queen of social comedy, is on top form' Cathy Rentzenbrink

The Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller: 'Moggach is at the height of her powers with this book, which moves from a beautifully observed comedy of middle-class life to an immensely moving celebration of two imperfect marriages' Sunday Times 'A cracking, crackling social comedy, with some brilliant observations about ageing and a devilish plot twist' The Times From the bestselling author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Tulip Fever, a deliciously funny, poignant and wry novel, full of surprising twists and turns: James is getting on a bit and needs full-time help. So Phoebe and Robert, his middle-aged offspring, employ Mandy, who seems willing to take him off their hands. But as James regales his family with tales of Mandy's virtues, their shopping trips and the shared pleasure of their journeys to garden centres, Phoebe and Robert sense something is amiss. Then something extraordinary happens which throws everything into new relief, changing all the stories of their childhood - and the father - that they thought they knew so well. 'Joyous' Daily Mail

Discover the Sunday Times bestselling novel that inspired the beloved hit film starring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Celia Imrie, Dev Patel and Penelope Wilton. Enticed by advertisements for a luxury retirement home in India, a group of strangers leave England to begin a new life. On arrival, however, they discover the palace is a shell of its former self, the staff are more than a little eccentric and the days of the Raj appear to be long gone. But, as they soon discover, life and love can begin again, even in the most unexpected circumstances. Previously published with the title These Foolish Things. 'A glorious romp that will inspire roars of recognition' Sunday Express

Seventeenth-century Amsterdam, a city in the grip of tulip mania and basking the wealth it has generated. Cornelis, an ageing merchant, commissions a talented young painter to preserve his status and marriage on canvas. At the sittings, as a collector of beautiful things, Cornelis surrounds himself with symbols of his success, including his young wife, Sophia. But as the portrait grows, so does the passion between Sophia and the artist; and as ambitions, desires and dreams breed an intricate deception, their reckless gamble propels their lives towards a thrilling and tragic conclusion.

Pru is on her own. But then, so are plenty of other people. And while the loneliness can be overwhelming, surely she'll find a party somewhere? 'She really is the Nora Ephron of North London' Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures Pru's husband has walked out, leaving her alone to contemplate her future. She's missing not so much him, but the life they once had - nestling up like spoons in the cutlery drawer as they sleep. Now there's just a dip on one side of the bed and no-one to fill it. In a daze, Pru goes off to a friend's funeral. Usual old hymns, words of praise and a eulogy but...it doesn't sound like the friend Pru knew. She's gone to the wrong service. Everyone was very welcoming, it was more excitement than she's had for ages. So she buys a little black dress in a charity shop and thinks, now I'm all set, why not go to another? I mean, people don't want to make a scene at a funeral, do they? No-one will challenge her - and what harm can it do? 'I love clever books that make me laugh. Deborah Moggach, queen of social comedy, is on top form. Superb' Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love and Everyone is Still Alive 'Full of warmth and humour, as well as blistering truths' Daily Mirror

In one new volume, an irresistible collection of stories from two previous works, SMILE and CHANGING BABIES, with additional stories, previously unpublished in book form. 'What informs Moggach's excellent stories is not just the exactness of her observation, but the quality of warmth and affection' Sunday Times From swimming on Hampstead Heath to house-sitting with troublesome dogs, or illicit afternoon trysts in Soho to pedicures in Florence with recalcitrant teenagers,. this collection of short stories includes some previously unpublished in book form, and covers the gamut of human nature - our foibles, our loves, our desires, hopes, ambitions and failures. Rich in observation and speckled with a delicious dark humour, FOOL FOR LOVE: THE SELECTED SHORT STORIES confirms Deborah Moggach's place as one of our finest observers of human life. 'I love clever books that make me laugh. Deborah Moggach, queen of social comedy, is on top form' Cathy Rentzenbrink

First published in 1979, this is bestselling author Deborah Moggach's second novel. __________________ 'Moggach is at the height of her powers' Sunday Times 'She really is the Nora Ephron of North London' Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures 'She writes unflinchingly about family life, divorce, children, and the ups and downs of relationships' Independent __________________ Kate Cooper has been married to James for six years, and is trying very hard to be the model wife while he enjoys his high-flying career, but there's always something she feels she doesn't get quite right, whether it's her inability to remove their toddler son's pencil squiggles from the freshly painted walls, to the grubby button holes on her new blouse. Then she meets aspiring novelist Sam, her next door neighbour, a man who shouldn't, but does, have time on his hands. And he makes her laugh. But what about his wife, and their daughter Marion, dreaming her way through adolescence? CLOSE TO HOME is a novel of one hot summer, of passion and dislocation, and of lives converging in unexpected ways.

First published in 1978, this is Deborah Moggach's first novel, newly republished by Tinder Press __________________ 'Moggach is at the height of her powers' Sunday Times 'She really is the Nora Ephron of North London' Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures 'She writes unflinchingly about family life, divorce, children, and the ups and downs of relationships' Independent 'She writes beautifully' Sunday Telegraph __________________ Three sisters, Claire - a model daughter, a teacher, straightforward, happy yet wanting love. Laura, the wild one, a student, a beauty, yearning to break the bounds of family life. And Holly, their little sister, the one they don't really know, but who watches everything. Leaving home, seduction, coming of age and growing up abound in this delicious novel of sibling rivalry, partnership and love.

A tale of art, beauty, lust, greed, deception and retribution -- set in a refined society ablaze with tulip fever.

In 1630s Amsterdam, tulipomania has seized the populace. Everywhere men are seduced by the fantastic exotic flower. But for wealthy merchant Cornelis Sandvoort, it is his young and beautiful wife, Sophia, who stirs his soul. She is the prize he desires, the woman he hopes will bring him the joy that not even his considerable fortune can buy.

Cornelis yearns for an heir, but so far he and Sophia have failed to produce one. In a bid for immortality, he commissions a portrait of them both by the talented young painter Jan van Loos. But as Van Loos begins to capture Sophia's likeness on canvas, a slow passion begins to burn between the beautiful young wife and the talented artist.

As the portrait unfolds, so a slow dance is begun among the household's inhabitants. Ambitions, desires, and dreams breed a grand deception -- and as the lies multiply, events move toward a thrilling and tragic climax.

In this richly imagined international bestseller, Deborah Moggach has created the rarest of novels -- a lush, lyrical work of fiction that is also compulsively readable. Seldom has a novel so vividly evoked a time, a place, and a passion.

From Deborah Moggach, bestselling author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, comes another hilarious and romantic comedy, this time set in a run-down B&B in Wales... When retired actor Buffy decides to up sticks from London and move to rural Wales, he has no idea what he is letting himself in for. In possession of a run-down B&B that leans more towards the shabby than the chic and is miles from nowhere, he realises he needs to fill the beds - and fast. Enter a motley collection of guests: Harold, whose wife has run off with a younger woman; Amy, who's been unexpectedly dumped by her (not-so) weedy boyfriend and Andy, the hypochondriac postman whose girlfriend is much too much for him to handle. But under Buffy's watchful eye, this disparate group of strangers find they have more in common than perhaps they first thought... 'Addictive and funny... If there is a book more like a Richard Curtis film, you'd be hard-pressed to find it' Psychologies 'Just as exuberant and hilarious as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' Good Housekeeping