All Alison ever wanted was a blissful childhood for her six children, with summers at the beach and birthday parties on the lawn at their family home. Together with Ingrid, the family au pair, she has worked hard to create a real old-fashioned family life. But beneath its postcard sheen, the picture is clouded by a distant father, Alison's inexplicable emotional outbursts, and long-repressed secrets that no one dares mention.

All Alison ever wanted was a blissful childhood for her six children, with summers at the beach and birthday parties on the lawn at their family home. Together with Ingrid, the family au pair, she has worked hard to create a real "old-fashioned family life." But beneath its postcard sheen, the picture is clouded by a distant father, Alison's inexplicable emotional outbursts, and long-repressed secrets that no one dares mention. For years, Alison's adult children have protected her illusion of domestic perfection-but as each child confronts the effects of past choices on their current adult lives, it becomes evident that each must face the truth.Penelope Lively's novels of history, memory, and character have earned her a loyal legion of fans. Like Ian McEwan's Atonement, this novel is a measured, thoughtful look at how events of the past, both small and large, seen and unseen, deeply inform character and the present. Quietly provocative and disturbing, Family Album is a highly nuanced work that showcases a master of her craft.

Having dedicated herself to styling her family in accordance with her ideals, mother of six Alison finds her illusions wavering in the face of her husband's distance, long-repressed secrets, and her children's respective confrontations with painful truths.

A big shabby Victorian suburban house, the smell of raincoats and coq au vin in the hall, the six mugs for the children slung from the kitchen dresser hooks: for destructive Paul, difficult Gina, elegant Sandra, considerate Katie, clever Roger and flighty Clare, Allersmead was the perfect place to grow up. But was it? Now grown-up and off in different directions, one by one the children return to Allersmead, to their home-making mother and aloof writer father and a house that for years has played silent witness to the secrets of a family, and one particular secret of which no one speaks.

"In this haunting new novel, the act of forgetting is as strange and interesting as the power of remembering." --The New York Times Book Review Look out for Penelope Lively's new book, The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories. Penelope Lively is renowned for her signature combination of silken storytelling and nuanced human insights. In Family Album, lively masterfully peels back one family's perfect façade to reveal the unsettling truths. All Alison ever wanted was to provide her six children with a blissful childhood. Its creation, however, became an obsession that involved Ingrid, the family au pair. As adults, Paul, Gina, Sandra, Katie, Roger, and Clare return to their family home and as mysteries begin to unravel, each must confront how the consequences of long-held secrets have shaped their lives.

All Alison ever wanted was a blissful childhood for her six children, with summers at the beach and birthday parties on the lawn of their family home. Together with Ingrid, the family au pair, she has worked hard to create an "old-fashioned family life." But beneath the postcard sheen, a distant father, Alison's emotional outbursts, and long repressed secrets, cloud the picture. For years, Alison's children have protected her illusion of domestic bliss, but as they confront the effects of past choices on their adult lives, it becomes evident that each must face certain truths.

Family Album is the sixteenth novel from Booker Prize winner Penelope Lively. Allersmead is a big shabby Victorian suburban house. The perfect place to grow up for elegant Sandra, difficult Gina, destructive Paul, considerate Katie, clever Roger and flighty Clare. But was it? As adults, the children return to Allersmead one by one. To their home-making mother and aloof writer father, and a house that for years has played silent witness to a family's secrets. And one devastating secret of which no one speaks . . . 'One of those ridiculously simple, ridiculously readable novels whose artistry only becomes apparent when you put it down with a sign of regret, having devoured it in one sitting . . . Lively still displays an economy and an elegance that put younger writers to shame' Sunday Telegraph 'A pleasure to read, hugely enjoyable, consistently absorbing, hilarious' Independent Penelope Lively is the author of many prize-winning novels and short-story collections for both adults and children. She has twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize- once in 1977 for her first novel, The Road to Lichfield, and again in 1984 for According to Mark. She later won the 1987 Booker Prize for her highly acclaimed novel Moon Tiger. Her other books include Going Back; Judgement Day; Next to Nature, Art; Perfect Happiness; Passing On; City of the Mind; Cleopatra's Sister; Heat Wave; Beyond the Blue Mountains, a collection of short stories; Oleander, Jacaranda, a memoir of her childhood days in Egypt; Spiderweb; her autobiographical work, A House Unlocked; The Photograph; Making It Up; Consequences; Family Album, which was shortlisted for the 2009 Costa Novel Award, and How It All Began. She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award. She was appointed CBE in the 2001 New Year's Honours List, and DBE in 2012. Penelope Lively lives in London.

Booker Prize winner Penelope Lively again shows her mastery of different viewpoints as she delves into the mystery of happy family life.

Fiction. Literature. Set in late-twentieth-century England, this novel will maintain a tight grip on listeners' attention. As the author introduces the family estate of Allersmead and its owners--the Harper family--the story seems straightforward. But quotidian dialogue and description give way to the airing of a family secret and depictions of how it affects each family member. Josephine Bailey makes seemingly effortless switches between characters. In particular, she gives distinct voices to the children and, as the novel progresses, believably changes their voices as they grow up. Bailey also portrays a large number of characters with a variety of accents. Overall, she fully captures the spirit of Lively's novel. R.F. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine. HTML:

All Alison ever wanted was a blissful childhood for her six children, with summers at the beach and birthday parties on the lawn at their family home. Together with Ingrid, the family au pair, she has worked hard to create a real "old-fashioned family life." But beneath its postcard sheen, the picture is clouded by a distant father, Alison's inexplicable emotional outbursts, and long-repressed secrets that no one dares mention. For years, Alison's adult children have protected her illusion of domestic perfection-but as each child confronts the effects of past choices on their current adult lives, it becomes evident that each must face the truth.

Penelope Lively's novels of history, memory, and character have earned her a loyal legion of fans. Like Ian McEwan's Atonement, this novel is a measured, thoughtful look at how events of the past, both small and large, seen and unseen, deeply inform character and the present. Quietly provocative and disturbing, Family Album is a highly nuanced work that showcases a master of her craft.

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Allersmead is a big shabby Victorian suburban house. The perfect place to grow up for elegant Sandra, difficult Gina, destructive Paul, considerate Katie, clever Roger and flighty Clare. But was it?

All Alison ever wanted for her six children was a blissful childhood. Together with Ingrid, the family au pair, she transformed a shabby Edwardian mansion into a veritable shrine of togetherness, complete with special-occasion dinners and elegant birthday parties. Allison has perfected the persona of devoted wife and doting mother. Beneath the postcard sheen, however, this picture is clouded.

Family Album is the story of a sprawling family with a dark secret at its heart. Having left Allersmead, the family estate, as a teenager, daughter Gina returns for a visit with her new boyfriend. His curiosity about her mysterious past leads to reflection and revelations, and soon the entire family—six grown children, all with their own reasons for having left home—must confront the unspoken secret from their past. PRAISE FOR PENELOPE LIVELY “Her greatest gift is her ability to see beyond mere cultural ephemera and grasp the unchanging essence of life.” — The Wall Street Journal on Consequences “Her characters are beguiling, and her blend of romance and stinging social commentary is tonic.” — Booklist (starred review) on Consequences PRAISE FOR FAMILY ALBUM “[U]nflaggingly compelling…. exceptionally well observed and gloriously enjoyable. Family Album manages to intrigue and delight, and to keep the reader captivated, racing along without obvious direction but with a very tight sense of purpose…. [O]ne of [Lively's] most impressive works.” — The Guardian “[H]ugely enjoyable… a pleasure to read.” — The Independent “Lively skilfully mingles past and present, as she peels away the layers to uncover a family secret of which no one speaks. What seems at first a minor domestic drama evolves into a much darker picture, and time takes its inevitable toll as the parents grow old and infirm. Lively's astute skewering of family relations reverberates in the mind long afterwards.” — The Daily Mail “Lively succeeds brilliantly in getting a hold on the climate of family life. Slowly we absorb the details that get lost in the bluster and flurry until we are so drawn in, so tightly contained in the dynamics of this one, that the end, when it comes, is simply devastating.” — The Times

*NOMINATED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD* Family Album 'a hugely enjoyable read' from Booker Prize winner Penelope Lively 'This novel should delight her regular readers and ensnare new ones' Evening Standard Allersmead is a big shabby Victorian suburban house. The perfect place to grow up for elegant Sandra, difficult Gina, destructive Paul, considerate Katie, clever Roger and flighty Clare. But was it? Now adults, the children return to Allersmead one by one. To their home-making mother and aloof writer father, and a house that for years has played silent witness to a family's secrets. And one devastating secret of which no one speaks . . . 'One of those ridiculously simple, ridiculously readable novels whose artistry only becomes apparent when you put it down' Sunday Telegraph 'A pleasure to read, hugely enjoyable, consistently absorbing, hilarious' Independent Penelope Lively is the author of many prize-winning novels and short-story collections for both adults and children. She won the 1987 Booker Prize for her highly acclaimed novel Moon Tiger. She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award. She was appointed CBE in the 2001 New Year's Honours List, and DBE in 2012. Penelope Lively lives in London.

All Alison ever wanted was a blissful childhood for her six children. But, the picture is clouded by a distant father, Alison's inexplicable emotional outbursts, and long-repressed secrets that no one dares mention.

A novel of family intrigue from one of the most accomplished writers of fiction ("The Washington Post"), "Family Album" offers a measured, thoughtful look at how events of the past, both small and large, deeply inform the present.

Alison, who tries to create a blissful family environment for her six children with help from Ingrid, the family's au pair, finds it difficult to contain long-repressed secrets that nobody in the household dares to mention.

Fiction. Literature. Set in late-twentieth-century England, this novel will maintain a tight grip on listeners' attention. As the author introduces the family estate of Allersmead and its owners--the Harper family--the story seems straightforward. But quotidian dialogue and description give way to the airing of a family secret and depictions of how it affects each family member. Josephine Bailey makes seemingly effortless switches between characters. In particular, she gives distinct voices to the children and, as the novel progresses, believably changes their voices as they grow up. Bailey also portrays a large number of characters with a variety of accents. Overall, she fully captures the spirit of Lively's novel. R.F. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine. HTML:

September 14, 2009
Employing her trademark skill at honing detail and dialogue, Lively (Moon Tiger
) delivers a vigorous new novel revolving around a house outside of London, the sprawling Edwardian homestead of Allersmead, and the family of six children who grew up there. By degrees—in shifting POVs and time periods cutting from the 1970s until the present—Lively introduces the prodigious Harper family. There's Alison, the frazzled matriarch, who married young and pregnant, and persuaded her historian husband to buy Allersmead; distracted father Charles, who writes recherché tomes in his study and can't remember what ages his children are; and the children, who range from the wayward eldest and mother's favorite, Paul, to the youngest, Clare, whose parentage involves a family secret concerning Ingrid, the Scandinavian au pair. Lively adeptly focuses on the second-oldest, Gina, a foreign journalist who planned her life to stay far away from home until, at age 39, fellow journalist Philip goads her to contemplate settling down for the first time. With its bountiful characters and exhaustive time traveling, Lively's vivisection of a nuclear family displays polished writing and fine character delineation.

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All Alison ever wanted was a blissful childhood for her six children, with summers at the beach and birthday parties on the lawn at their family home. Together with Ingrid, the family au pair, she has worked hard to create a real "old-fashioned family life." But beneath its postcard sheen, the picture is clouded by a distant father, Alison's inexplicable emotional outbursts, and long-repressed secrets that no one dares mention. For years, Alison's adult children have protected her illusion of domestic perfection-but as each child confronts the effects of past choices on their current adult lives, it becomes evident that each must face the truth.

Penelope Lively's novels of history, memory, and character have earned her a loyal legion of fans. Like Ian McEwan's Atonement, this novel is a measured, thoughtful look at how events of the past, both small and large, seen and unseen, deeply inform character and the present. Quietly provocative and disturbing, Family Album is a highly nuanced work that showcases a master of her craft.

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Allersmead, et stort og lurvet viktoriansk hus, har dannet rammen om et tilsyneladende idyllisk familieliv med far, mor og seks søskende. Nu er børnene voksne og spredt for alle vinde, men en for en vender de tilbage til det barndomshjem, som i årevis har været stumt vidne til familiens hemmeligheder.