Indefinite Nights

Literature & Fiction

Ferguson, Patricia

Contemporary

HarperCollins, Publishers

Family myths and legends: A novel

A. Deutsch

Patricia Ferguson, short-listed for the 2005 Orange Prize for Literature with her novel It So Happens, brings together here a collection of stories drawn on her experiences as a nurse and midwife.  Written in clear, straightforward prose, these stories display a wicked sense of humour and compassionate perception, bringing the hospital ward into sharp focus.

Indefinite Nights: And Other Stories

British & Irish

Andre Deutsch Ltd.

A BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime. The new novel from Orange Prize listed author Patricia Ferguson is a deeply moving tale about two sisters and the young black orphan who changes their lives - for anyone who loves Call the Midwife or Andrea Levy. Violet Dimond, the Holy Terror, has delivered many of the town children - and often their children - in her capacity as handywoman. But Violet's calling is dying out as, with medicine's advances, the good old ways are no longer good enough. Grace, Violet's adopted daughter, is a symbol of change herself. In the place where she has grown up and everyone knows her, she is accepted, though most of the locals never before saw a girl with skin that colour. For Violet and Grace the coming war will bring more upheaval into their lives: can they endure it, or will they, like so many, be swept aside by history's tide? A moving tale of prejudice, struggle, love, tragedy, bravery and the changing lives of women in the twentieth century, The Midwife's Daughter grips the reader all the way to its heartstopping conclusion. Praise for Patricia Ferguson: 'Strong, affecting, vividly depicted . . . It is a pure pleasure to read' Lionel Shriver, Telegraph (on Peripheral Vision by Patricia Ferguson) 'One of the most brilliant novelists around . . . funny, gripping, wonderfully shrewd' Independent Patricia Ferguson trained in nursing and midwifery, and her first book, Family Myths and Legends, won the Betty Trask, David Higham and Somerset Maugham awards. Her most recent books, It So Happens and Peripheral Vision were both longlisted for the Orange Prize. She lives in Bristol.

The Midwife's Daughter

Genre Fiction

Fig Tree

Norah Thornby can no longer afford to live in her grand family home in the centre of Silkhampton. Unless, perhaps, she can find a respectable lodger. But Nurse Lettie Quick is not nearly as respectable as she seems. What's really going on at the clinic she has opened? And why has she chosen Silkhampton? Meanwhile the beautiful Rae Grainger has found the perfect place to stay, in an isolated house miles away from the town. It's certainly rather creepy, especially at candlelit bedtime, but Rae knows that all she has to do is stay out of sight, until others - paid, professional others - are ready to take her little problem away. Then she can just forget the whole ghastly business . . . can't she? No one guesses, of course, that there's a killer quietly at work in Silkhampton; that in one way or another all three women are in danger . . .

Aren't We Sisters

"Valerie Elliott met Betty's eyes so briefly that Betty knew instantly that she had been recognized." Betty Potts is determined to return the house in her care to its former grandeur. A buried secret links Valerie Elliott to Miss Potts, the scheming warden of Cabotin Court, an old people's home. And with Valerie in her power, Miss Potts can throw out the carpets and sort out the hole in her office wall that's been bothering her... But theirs is not the only secret hidden away in Cabotin Court. From Rosemary, Miss Potts' deputy, to the residents Alethea Troy and Annie Cameron, everyone has their own problems and mysteries.

It So Happens

Humor & Satire

Ulverscroft Large Print Books

Isis Large Print Books

Violet Dimond, the Holy Terror, has delivered many of Silkhampton's children - and often THEIR children - in her capacity as handywoman. But Violet's calling is dying out, as with medicine's advances, the good old ways are no longer good enough. Grace, Violet's adopted daughter, is a symbol of change herself. In the place where she has grown up and everyone knows her, she is accepted, though most of the locals never before saw a girl with skin THAT colour. For Violet and Grace the coming war will bring more upheaval into their lives: can they endure it, or will they, like so many, be swept aside by history's tide?

Charnwood

Sylvia, a young, highly competent eye surgeon in 1990s London, stumbles into love and motherhood and discovers she is terrified of both. Ruby, a 1950s suburban housewife, begins receiving poison pen letters; her interior life is so distorted by rage and shame that she actually believes she deserves them. Iris, the gentle young nurse who attends to Ruby's son after an accident, falls in love with a handsome, upper-middle-class medical student. But Iris is working class and will have to overcome forces of snobbery to achieve the safety and love she so desperately craves. Over the course of this gripping, intricately plotted story, the subtle connections between these three women are gradually and surprisingly revealed as Ferguson masterfully illustrates the role random fate plays in human life. Peripheral Vision is a funny and clever novel about love and the lack of it; about motherhood, sight, and insight; and about the different ways we experience and transcend suffering.

Peripheral Vision

Other Press

A Pecan Pickling Glazed Sugary Journey: Dreaming and Imagining All Kinds of Things

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

Trilogy Christian Publishing

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ferguson, Patricia. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Ferguson, Patricia