Heat Wave

Pauline is spending the summer at World's End, a cottage somewhere in the middle of England. This year the adjoining cottage is occupied by her daughter Teresa and baby grandson Luke, and, of course, Maurice, the man Teresa married. As the hot months unfold, Maurice grows ever more involved in the book he is writing — and with his female copy editor — and Pauline can only watch in dismay and anger as her daughter repeats her own mistakes in love. The heat and tension lead to a violent, startling climax.

Penelope Lively (b. 1933) was born in Cairo. Her novels include Passing On, City of the Mind, Cleopatra's Sister and Heat Wave.

Endorsements

Shortlisted twice for the Booker Prize — 1977 for The Road to Lichfield and 1984 for According to Mark; winner of the 1987 Booker Prize for Moon Tiger.

'Extraordinarily good, intelligent and perceptive ... very moving' — Susan Hill, author of The Woman in Black

'[Heat Wave is] short, but the emotions are so intense and the writing so good that it punches well above its weight' — Independent