Anita and Me

Based on the author's own childhood, this novel depicts growing up in the 60s as part of the only "coloured" family living in a Wolverhampton mining village.

Anita and me

Syal, Meera

Indus

The story of Meena, growing up in the only Punjabi family in the Black Country mining village of Tollington, from award-winning screenwriter Meera Syal. This hilarious novel is a set text for GCSE WJEC and Edexcel.

Anita and Me (Collins Readers)

Literature & Fiction

Dramas & Plays

Times Books UK

Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee

Meer Syal has created an indelible portrait of a close-knit group of Indian women living in London. Caught between two cultures, three childhood friends―Chila, Sunita, and Tania―are expected to revert to being obedient mothers and wives. But their world explodes when Tania makes a documentary, starring Chila and Sunita, about contemporary urban Indian Life. The result is an unforgettable story of friendship, marriage, betrayal, and the difficult choices woman face.

Humor & Satire

Picador

LIFE HASN’T ALWAYS BEEN EASY for Shyama, a British Indian woman in her mid-forties whose husband abandoned her when their daughter was still young, but she has finally found happiness with Toby, a man ten years her junior. She and Toby want to have a child together, but her doctor tells her that her womb has become inhospitable. (“An inhospitable womb! There, she had been looking for a title for her autobiography.”) So Shyama and Toby decide to take advantage of the Indian surrogacy boom. Meanwhile, four thousand miles away in rural India, a young woman named Mala, who’s married to an abusive older man, learns from her newly wealthy neighbor about the riches to be acquired by acting as a surrogate for an international couple, and she thinks she has found her ticket out of poverty. As Shyama’s and Mala’s lives begin their journey toward each other, the two women soon discover that a simple arrangement may be far more complicated than it once seemed.
In The House of Hidden Mothers, the British actress and playwright Meera Syal has penned a confrontational and ultimately heartbreaking cautionary tale about the Indian surrogacy industry. Beneath the fast-paced narrative, the warm wit, and the characters whose emotional journeys grip you from the very first page run piercing insights on youth and age, wealth and poverty, love, sex, joy, and power. Spanning the distance from London to New Delhi, this ambitious and beautifully written novel immerses you in a devastating story of friendship, family, and the lengths we will go in order to have a perfect life.

The House of Hidden Mothers: A Novel

Literary

Sarah Crichton Books

Contemporary

Transworld Publishers, Ltd

The House of Hidden Mothers

'Moving and incredibly funny at the same time. A great achievement.' RICHARD E. GRANT 'Dazzling. Intense and gritty at times, sparkling and hilarious at others. I found it absorbing, witty, joyous and moving…and that’s all I really want from a book!' - JO BRAND 'Witty and engaging' Sunday Times Little India, East London: Shyama, aged forty-eight, has fallen for a younger man. They want a child together. Meanwhile, in a rural village in India, young Mala, trapped in an oppressive marriage, dreams of escape. When Shyama and Mala meet, they help each other realise their dreams. But will fate guarantee them both happiness?... Brimming with warmth, wit and indignation, Meera Syal immerses us in a devastating story of friendship, family and the lengths we will go to have a perfect life. THE HOUSE OF HIDDEN MOTHERS is her long-awaited third novel and shows Meera Syal at the height of her literary powers Meera Syal, CBE, is one of our most acclaimed actors and writers of stage and screen. She starred in the hit series The Kumars at No.42 and recently in the BBC film of David Walliams' The Boy in the Dress. She is currently in David Hare's play, Behind the Beautiful Forevers at the National Theatre, and in the latest series of Broadchurch. Meera Syal is also highly regarded for her funny, sharp and provocative fiction. Her earlier novels are ANITA AND ME and LIFE ISN'T ALL HA HA HEE HEE (now available as a re-issue). THE HOUSE OF HIDDEN MOTHERS is her long-awaited new novel. 'Brilliant. It is destined to be a bestseller. There is so much in it too. Beautiful writing, human frailty, love, vanity, friendship - but most importantly the shocking reminder of how woman are abused the world over.' - ESTHER FREUD

DOUBLEDAY

Life hasn’t always been easy for Shyama, a woman in her mid-forties whose husband abandoned her when their daughter was still young. But she has finally found happiness with Toby, a man ten years her junior. She and Toby want to have a child together, but Shyama’s doctor tells her that her womb has become "inhospitable."("An inhospitable womb! There, she had been looking for a title for her autobiography.") While Shyama and Toby begin their search for the perfect surrogate, four thousand miles away a young woman in rural India named Mala becomes convinced that carrying a child for an international couple will be her ticket out of poverty―and as her life intersects with Shyama’s, the two women soon discover that an apparently simple arrangement may be far more complicated than it once seemed.

Women's Fiction

The first drama anthology by Black and Asian women writers.

Six Plays by Black and Asian Women Writers (Plays by Women)

Cooke, Trish

Pinnock, Winsome

Ahmad, Rukhsana

Chowdhry, Maya

Zindika

Aurora Metro Press

Life hasn’t always been easy for Shyama, a woman in her mid-forties whose husband abandoned her when their daughter was still young. But she has finally found happiness with Toby, a man ten years her junior. She and Toby want to have a child together, but Shyama’s doctor tells her that her womb has become "inhospitable."("An inhospitable womb! There, she had been looking for a title for her autobiography.") While Shyama and Toby begin their search for the perfect surrogate, four thousand miles away a young woman in rural India named Mala becomes convinced that carrying a child for an international couple will be her ticket out of poverty―and as her life intersects with Shyama’s, the two women soon discover that an apparently simple arrangement may be far more complicated than it once seemed.

This brilliant new collection of ten plays for young people will prove indispensable to schools, colleges and youth theatre groups. Specially commissioned by the National Theatre for the Connections Festival 2012 involving 200 schools and youth theatre groups across the UK and Ireland, each play is accompanied by production notes and exercises. 
Power struggles, rites of passage, love and forbidden relationships are some of the rich themes that run through the 2012 cycle of plays. Some are deeply funny, some are provocative and some reflective; and one has really catchy songs!
For the 2012 Festival, the anthology has an international feel and offers a window on the world. It includes from Australia a play based on a nineteenth century court case in which a teenage girl was falsely convicted; from Brazil a drama about young lovers doomed to tragedy; set in Russia, a play exploring differing attitudes to National Service and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991; a drama about students' rights to an education and the Cultural Revolution of 1966 in China; and a comedy involving a group of Irish country girls travelling to London to audition for the X-Factor.

National Theatre Connections 2012: Plays for Young People: Victim Sidekick Boyfriend Me; Journey to X; Little Foot; Prince of Denmark; Socialism is ... a Superhero?; The Ritual (Play Anthologies)

Harris, Nancy

Sater, Steven

Lustgarten, Anders

Higginson, Craig

Bell, Hilary

Mullarkey, Rory

Lesslie, Michael

Virk, Paven

Yazbek, Samir

Teen & Young Adult

Methuen Drama

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