ABOUT
THE BOOK

Joanna Trollope`s new novel concerns that expanding social unit, the step-family, and explores the myths, the truths and the difficulties of trying to deal simultaneously with present relationships, past relationships and, above all, with other people’s children. We meet women representing every aspect of motherhood- Nadine, the ‘natural’ mother, Josie the stepmother, Elizabeth the would-be stepmother. We meet men brought up sharply against the more complex truths of modern fatherhood- Matthew who must live with another man’s son and without his own children; Tom, torn between his own desires and what he believes he owes his daughter. And, most importantly, we meet the children, grown up, adolescent, young, all battling to find a place for themselves in this new order they haven`t chosen. By 2010, there will be more stepfamilies than birth families in Britain, a fact which only emphasises the importance of Trollope`s intelligent scrutiny. No one goes more fearlessly into the emotional and practical dynamics of family life, nor offers such workable solutions.