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The Observations

(Paperback, Main)


Publishing Details

Full Title:

The Observations

Contributors:

By (Author) Jane Harris

ISBN:

9780571223367

Publisher:

Faber & Faber

Imprint:

Faber & Faber

Publication Date:

1st April 2007

UK Publication Date:

1st February 2007

Edition:

Main

Country:

United Kingdom

Classifications

Readership:

General

Genre:
Fiction/Non-fiction:

Fiction

Dewey:

823

Prizes:

Short-listed for Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction 2007

Physical Properties

Physical Format:

Paperback

Number of Pages:

544

Dimensions:

Width 125mm, Height 198mm, Spine 34mm

Weight:

410g

Description

So there I was with two pens, my two titties, Charles Dickens, two slice of bread and a blank book at the end of my first day in the middle of nowhere. Except as it turned out it wasnt quite the end ...Scotland, 1863. In an attempt to escape her not-so-innocent past in Glasgow, Bessy Buckley - the wide-eyed Irish heroine of The Observations - takes a job as a maid in a big house outside Edinburgh working for the beautiful Arabella. Bessy is intrigued by her new employer, but puzzled by her increasingly strange requests and her insistence that Bessy keep a journal of her most intimate thoughts. And it seems that Arabella has a few secrets of her own - including her near-obssessive affection for Nora, a former maid who died in mysterious circumstances. Then a childish prank has drastic consequences which throw into jeopardy all that Bessy has come to hold dear. Caught up in a tangle of madness, ghosts, sex and lies, she is determined to remain devoted to Arabella. But who is really responsible for what happened to her predecessor Nora As her past threatens to catch up with her and complicate matters even further, Bessy begins to realise that she has not quite landed on her feet.

Reviews

"'Funny and original.' Peter Parker, Sunday Times 'Recounted in gutsy, vibrant prose, this is guaranteed to keep you gripped.' Eve Magazine"

Author Bio

Jane Harris was born in Belfast and brought up in Glasgow. Her short stories have appeared in a wide variety of anthologies and she has also written several award-winng short films. In 2000 she received a Writer's Award from the Arts Council of England. She lives in London with her husband Tom.

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