The Finest Type of English Womanhood

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A sensational debut based on a real-life murder case It is 1946, and seventeen-year-old Laura Telling is stagnating in her dilapidated Sussex family home, while her eccentric parents slip further into isolation. A chance encounter with Paul Lovell offers her the chance to alter the course of her destiny - and to embark on a new life in South Africa. Many miles north, sixteen-year-old Gay Gibson is desperate to escape Birkenhead. When the girls' paths cross in Johannesburg, Laura is exposed to Gay's wild life of parties and inappropriate liaisons. Each in their own worlds, but thrown together, the girls find their lives inextricably entangled, with fatal consequences...

Reviews

A dark, compelling debut ... Heath skilfully recreates the trajectory of Gibson's life, but it's Trelling's equally damaged character ... which provides the vital emotional charge * Daily Mail *
Heath combines imaginative, fast paced story telling with an unerring sense of period, place and mood... an exceptionally well-written, suspenseful novel. * Guardian *
Excellent on the atmosphere of post-war Britain and the lure of South Africa... compellingly told, reminiscent of early Doris Lessing ... the twists keep the reader glued to the novel. * Independent *
...thrillingly macabre. * Daily Telegraph *
Excellent ... There is a compulsion and persuasive assurance in the writing * Sunday Times *

Author Bio

Rachel Heath was born in Bristol in 1968. She lives with her husband, a screen writer, and their three children and one dog in Bath. This is her first novel.