Ebook300 pages6 hours
The Queen of the Tambourine
By Jane Gardam
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
()
About this ebook
Winner of the Whitbread Prize for Best Novel of the Year: “Gardam’s portrait of an insanely imaginative woman in an elusive midlife crisis is impeccably drawn” (The Seattle Times).
With prose that is vibrant and witty, The Queen of the Tambourine traces the emotional breakdown—and eventual restoration—of Eliza Peabody, a smart and wildly imaginative woman who has become unbearably isolated in her prosperous London neighborhood. The letters Eliza writes to her neighbor, a woman whom she hardly knows, reveal her self-propelled descent into madness. Eliza must reach the depths of her downward spiral before she can once again find health and serenity. This story of a woman’s confrontation with the realities of sanity will delight readers who enjoy the works of Anita Brookner, Sybille Bedford, Muriel Spark, and Sylvia Plath.
“Excellently done . . . Manic delusions have never been so persuasive . . . Very moving when it is not being exceedingly funny.” —Anita Brookner, award-winning author of The Debut
“British author Gardam, who won the Whitbread Award for this jigsaw puzzle of a novel, keeps up the suspense to the end, writing like a sorceress in the meantime.” —The Seattle Times
“Brilliant.” —The Sunday Times
“An ingenious, funny, satirical, sad story . . . Vivid and poignant.” —The Independent on Sunday
“Wickedly comic . . . masterly and hugely enjoyable.” —Daily Mail
“Marvelously subtle and moving.” —The Times (London)
With prose that is vibrant and witty, The Queen of the Tambourine traces the emotional breakdown—and eventual restoration—of Eliza Peabody, a smart and wildly imaginative woman who has become unbearably isolated in her prosperous London neighborhood. The letters Eliza writes to her neighbor, a woman whom she hardly knows, reveal her self-propelled descent into madness. Eliza must reach the depths of her downward spiral before she can once again find health and serenity. This story of a woman’s confrontation with the realities of sanity will delight readers who enjoy the works of Anita Brookner, Sybille Bedford, Muriel Spark, and Sylvia Plath.
“Excellently done . . . Manic delusions have never been so persuasive . . . Very moving when it is not being exceedingly funny.” —Anita Brookner, award-winning author of The Debut
“British author Gardam, who won the Whitbread Award for this jigsaw puzzle of a novel, keeps up the suspense to the end, writing like a sorceress in the meantime.” —The Seattle Times
“Brilliant.” —The Sunday Times
“An ingenious, funny, satirical, sad story . . . Vivid and poignant.” —The Independent on Sunday
“Wickedly comic . . . masterly and hugely enjoyable.” —Daily Mail
“Marvelously subtle and moving.” —The Times (London)
Read more from Jane Gardam
The Flight of the Maidens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God on the Rocks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hollow Land Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrusoe's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Faith Fox Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bilgewater Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Long Way from Verona Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stories of Jane Gardam Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe People on Privilege Hill Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Queen of the Tambourine
Related ebooks
A Long Way from Verona Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Last Friends Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOld Filth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Man in the Wooden Hat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Sensible Life: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Clothes On Their Backs: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Heather Blazing: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Beginning of Spring Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Glass of Blessings: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bilgewater Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Barbara Pym Collection Volume One: A Glass of Blessings, Some Tame Gazelle, and Jane and Prudence Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNora Webster: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lucy Gayheart Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Alice Fantastic: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Barbara Pym Collection Volume Two: Less Than Angels and No Fond Return of Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Company She Keeps: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Camomile Lawn: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twilight Sleep Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Brookland: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Means of Escape: Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLess Than Angels: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Solace: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Truth About Lorin Jones: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Fair Deal Going Down Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOur Kind: A Novel in Stories Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Cazalet Chronicles: Five Novels in One Collection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Father of the Rain: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pleasing Hour: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wacky Man Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The South: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
General Fiction For You
A Man Called Ove: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Priory of the Orange Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The City of Dreaming Books Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Life of Pi: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unhoneymooners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shantaram: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dante's Divine Comedy: Inferno Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cabin at the End of the World: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beartown: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything's Fine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Canterbury Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Sister's Keeper: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond Good and Evil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ulysses: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Ends with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jackal, Jackal: Tales of the Dark and Fantastic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nettle & Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations: Complete and Unabridged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heroes: The Greek Myths Reimagined Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Queen of the Tambourine
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
The Queen of the Tambourine - Jane Gardam
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1