Small Pleasures

***Out now: Clare Chambers's new novel Shy Creatures*** LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTIONA BBC 2 'BETWEEN THE COVERS' BOOK CLUB PICK'Wonderful' RICHARD OSMAN'Perfect' INDIA KNIGHT'Beautiful' JESSIE BURTON'Witty and sharp' DAVID NICHOLLS1957, the suburbs of south east London. Jean Swinney is a journalist on a local paper, trapped in a life of duty and disappointment from which there is no likelihood of escape. When a young woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud. As the investigation turns her quiet life inside out, Jean is suddenly given an unexpected chance at friendship, love and - possibly - happiness.'Gorgeous . . . I could not recommend it more' PANDORA SYKES'Remarkable . . . Small Pleasures is no small pleasure' THE TIMES'Irresistible . . . wry, perceptive and quietly devastating' MAIL ON SUNDAY