It is the early 1960s, and 13-year-old Cassandra Fitzpatrick is growing up in a household full of waifs, strays, and general misfits. Despite her unorthodox home life, she is generally content until something happens that turns her life upside down. Cass’s unhappiness deepens when she wins a scholarship to a boarding school and is torn away from all she knows and loves, in particular her adoredif wildly unconventionalmother. Years later, as her beloved mother lies dying from cancer, a grown-up Cass begins to reassess the experiences, good and bad, of her past. Moving and humorous, this is a novel about the brevity of childhood and a reminder that love can be found in the most unexpected places.

The Birds, the Bees and Other Secrets (Macmillan New Writing)

Literature & Fiction

Garrood, Frances

Contemporary

Pan/Macmillan

Looking for a brilliant author of feel-good uplifting fiction? Try this collection of three heart-warming novels by Frances Garrood.Perfect for fans of Marian Keyes, Rachel Joyce and Jojo Moyes…Cassandra’s SecretCassandra Fitzpatrick’s family isn’t quite like everybody else’s: her house is always full to bursting with the various misfits her mother houses as lodgers. The creative and chaotic household is all she has ever known and loved, until something awful happens that changes everything.Cass loves her mother deeply, but, as she gets older, she becomes more and more aware of her flaws. Will Cass have to distance herself from her family to find happiness? Or is she destined to follow in her mother’s footsteps? As Cass reflects on her memories, she must lay the ghosts of the past to rest and make peace with the secrets that have haunted her adult life…Women Behaving BadlyAlice is a harried single mother dealing with a teenage son, an irresponsible ex, and a noncommittal lover. Mavis is juggling caring for her elderly, confused mother alongside her long-standing affair with a hypochondriac father-of-two. And Gabs is a high-class escort who’s fallen in love with someone completely unattainable.All three women are behaving in ways very much frowned upon by the Catholic Church. But their priest, Father Cuthbert is determined to reform them. As the three women strike up an unlikely friendship, each re-evaluates what is most important them. And it seems the not-so-holy trinity of Alice, Mavis, and Gabs can’t be ‘cured’ that easily…Ruth Robinson’s Year of MiraclesSix months ago, Ruth Robinson had a regular job, a monthly salary and a comfortable flat to go home to. After quitting her job ready to go travelling, a momentary lapse of judgement put a major spanner in the works… Now Ruth has a baby on the way, and no place to call home…With the father of her child AWOL and her parents less than impressed, Ruth decides to move in with her eccentric uncles. And when the Virgin Mary appears in their hen house, it is clear Ruth’s unplanned pregnancy isn’t the only ‘miracle’ she’ll be encountering this year…THE FRANCES GARROOD BOXSET is a collection of three funny and poignant women’s fiction novels, full of quirky characters and family dramas.‘Frances Garrood is a magnificent writer’ - thebookbag.co.uk

The Frances Garrood Collection: Cassandra's Secret, Women Behaving Badly & Ruth Robinson's Year of Miracles

Humor & Satire

Independently published

Women Behaving Badly: An uplifting, feel-good holiday read

Women's Fiction

Sapere Books

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