The Girls - John Bowen

For] people who like Myra Breckinridge as well as Miss Marple; fans of Beryl Bainbridge, Russell Greenan and Patricia Highsmith; those who feel Barbara Pym-ish on some days and Stephen King-ish on others . . . The Girls is not high tragedy, just as Gorey isn't Goya, but neither is it high camp. Bowen's authorial voice is too steady to be precious and the novel charms us as only certain tales ‘of village life’ can.”—Michele Slung, The Washington Post “An unqualified delight . . . Bowen rates superlatives for his alternately moving, frightening, hilarious novel and—above all—for the unsuspected, ultimate surprise.” —Publishers Weekly John Bowen (1924–2019) was born in what was then Calcutta, India, before being sent to England at the age of four to be reared by an uncle and aunt. He worked in journalism and advertising while publishing his first novels, including the apocalyptic After the Rain, then began a successful career writing for the stage and for television, including the much-lauded folk-horror “Play for Today” Robin Redbreast (1970).