Carefully thought-out stories. . . Patterns of interaction between past and present are sounded out to good effect. * Sunday Times *
Lively has guts and style. . . You are in the hands of a master * Daily Mail *
Her new collection of short stories is perfect. It is a very wide range of short stories and each one has an unexpected twist in the tale. * Kirsty Lang *
Thoughtful, intelligent and light of touch . . . Lively has the gift, rare and wonderful, of being able to peel back the layers one by one and set them before us, translucent and gleaming. * Sunday Telegraph *
Spry and world-wise, The Purple Swamp Hen is an enchanting story that sets the tone for the rest of this stellar collection. * Observer *
More stylish than many writers half her age . . . Lively knows a thing or two about storytelling. * The Times on How It All Began *
Lively is now nearly 80 but, as How It All Began shows, there is no diminution of her skills . . . Lively is a writer of craft and sagacity and such old fashioned virtues trump the chic but meretricious every time. * Financial Times on How It All Began *
Penelope Lively at her best, sharp-eyed but sympathetic, deftly steering the reader from one point of view to another. This novel should delight her regular readers and ensnare new ones. * Evening Standard on Family Album *
Lively skilfully mingles past and present, as she peels away the layers to uncover a family secret of which no one speaks...Lively's astute skewering of family relations reverberates in the mind long afterwards. * Daily Mail on Family Album *
Gorgeous * David Vann on Family Album, Guardian Books of the Year *
Sensuous and beautiful prose...proof that the best novelists change and grow. * The Times on Consequences *
Neatly constructed, lucidly written and full of admirable sentiments. * Sunday Times on Consequences *
Masterful. Transforms the every day into something rich. * Time Out on Consequences *
