<p>Part of the British Library Women Writers series, rediscovering forgotten works by early to mid-century women writers with beautiful new editions\n'She had saved her. But at what a cost! Her position, her name, her character – she had given them all, but Clarissa was hers.'\nUpon the death of her mother, Agatha Bodenham finds herself alone for the first time in her life. Solitary and socially awkward by nature, she starts to dream about her imaginary childhood friend – the only friend she ever had. Much to her surprise, Clarissa starts to appear, fleetingly at first, and engage with her, and eventually becomes visible to everyone else. Agatha, a 32-year- old spinster, must explain the child’s ‘sudden’ appearance. In a moment of panic, she pretends that Clarissa is her own daughter, her love child.\nOlivier constructs a mother/daughter relationship which is both poignant and playful. As the years roll by and Clarissa grows into a beautiful young woman, Agatha’s love becomes increasingly obsessive as she senses Clarissa slipping away, attracted by new interests and people her own age.\nPart of a curated collection of forgotten works by early to mid-century women writers, the British Library Women Writers series highlights the best middlebrow fiction from the 1910s to the 1960s, offering escapism, popular appeal and plenty of period detail to amuse, surprise and inform.</p>

The Love Child (British Library Women Writers)

Literature & Fiction

Olivier, Edith

Literary

British Library Publishing

The Love Child

Virago Ltd.

Country Moods and Tenses, a Non-grammarian's Chapbook

History

Europe

Hassell Street Press

This "landscape of the uplands" has been described as "an ocean of rolling grass"; and, with its distinct and yet unaccented separateness, it looks like the green eye of England.'  Originally compiled by the near-blind Olivier in 1945-1946 and posthumously published three years after her death in 1951 by her niece Rosemary, Wiltshire is acknowledged as a credible early travel guide in which the county is truly brought to life.   In Wiltshire, Edith Olivier paints a vivid portrait of her beloved homeland, describing in minute detail its history, character, towns and villages, people, landscape, customs and traditions. Dating back to the time of the Saxon invasions through to the birth of a modern, pre-war Wiltshire, and covering such vast subjects as its royal entertainments, sports and leisure pursuits, dialect, architecture and the collections contained within its great country houses, Olivier clearly depicts the personality and landscape of Wiltshire.  Drawing on extensive research and containing entertaining anecdotes about famous historical figures travelling through the county, including Henry VIII and Shakespeare, as well as tales of highway robberies and early theories behind the origins of Stonehenge, Olivier has crafted a warm and informative account of a bygone era. Edith became mayor of Wilton in 1939 and her love of the place is clearly depicted in this great work.

Wiltshire

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

Bello

Night Thoughts of a Country Landlady

What was she? Not a child, for she was seventeen, and taller than Kitty: not a girl, for she floated like a feather, and flew into trees like a bird; not a spirit - she was human to touch. But to-night she was all made of mischief and magic, remote form him, and yet calling him to here . . .' At thirty-two, her mother dead, Agatha Bodenham finds herself quite alone. She summons back to life the only friend she ever knew, Clarissa, the dream companion of her childhood. At first Clarissa comes by night, and then by day, gathering substance in the warmth of Agatha's obsessive love until it seems that others too can see her. See, but not touch, for Agatha has made her love child for herself alone. No man may approach her elfin creation of perfect beauty. If he does, the love which summoned her can spirit her away . . . The Love Child (1927) was Edith Olivier's first novel, acknowledged as a minor masterpiece: a perfectly imagined fable and a moving and perceptive portrayal of unfulfilled maternal love.

Without Knowing Mr Walkley

Arts & Literature

Querida niña (Largo recorrido) (Spanish Edition)

Editorial Periferica

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