Join us for readings and discussion with acclaimed novelists Amanda Craig and Claire Fuller, whose novels THE LIE OF THE LAND and SWIMMING LESSONS, were two of our top reads of 2017. Both are set in the southwest (Devon and Dorset, respectively) and both are canny portraits of marriages torn asunder by betrayal and circumstance. 
 
THE LIE OF THE LAND is the story of a middle class couple who are forced by the recession and the loss of their jobs to leave a gilded metropolitan life in London to rent a damp, dingy farmhouse in Devon, where they find themselves in a world they barely recognise. A black comedy about a marriage in crisis and a nation of two halves, Craig's novel was chosen as one of the books of the year by The Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian, The Observer, The Financial Times and The Irish Times. 
 
Claire Fuller shot to fame in 2015 with her bestselling debut, OUR ENDLESS NUMBERED DAYS, which won the Desmond Elliot Prize. SWIMMING LESSONS is a worthy follow-up: it tells the story of Ingrid Coleman who writes letters to her husband, Gil about the truth of their marriage, but decides not to send them. Instead she hides them within the thousands of books her husband collects. After she writes her final letter, Ingrid disappears from an English beach. Twelve years later, her adult daughters come together with their aging father to unravel the truth behind their marriage. According to The Times:  'Thrilling, transporting, delicately realised and held together by a sophisticated sense of suspense.' 
 
Amanda and Claire will discuss and read from their novels and will be available to sign copies at the end. Tickets are £5 and will include a glass of wine or cordial. Space limited so book early!