"I behaved badly at that first supper. That’s what my parents thought. They didn’t say, they wouldn’t, but I could see it in their stiffened faces."

On a bleak, muddy island in the Blackwater Estuary, Lizzie struggles to come to terms with the loss of her unborn child and the death of her sister.

Trapped in a damp cottage with her ineffectual but well-meaning husband, and her aloof parents, the things that are said and left unsaid on this strained family holiday threaten the complex ties between mothers and fathers and their daughters.

Will Lizzie’s marriage survive the double tragedy? Will her family pull together or break apart under the stress?

A compelling and poignant exploration of one woman’s grief, this debut novel moves us to ask ourselves how well we really know those with whom we are most intimate.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julia Russell was born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa. Educated in Paris and Oxford, she now lives in Cambridge with her daughter. Pedalling Backwards is her debut novel. @juliakhrussell

Recommended to book clubs by 0 of 0 members.