Penelope Lively

Penelope Lively has been at the forefront of English fiction for decades and has won numerous awards as an author for both children and adults. Her novels – including Heat Wave, How It All Began and the Booker-winning Moon Tiger – are funny, humane and always infused with a deep social consciousness. She describes her elegant and moving new book, Ammonites and Leaping Fish, as “not quite a memoir” – rather, a “view from old age… and a view of old age itself, this place at which we arrive with a certain surprise.” This lyrical almost-memoir takes in memory, reading and writing, and the importance of the context of one’s life and times.

All of Penelope Lively’s masterful plots are crafted on a backdrop of time and memory; Ammonites and Leaping Fish is a beautiful summation of her ideas on this elusive concept, and what it means to be human. Join us for a memorable afternoon accompanied by tea and cake, featuring this landmark book in the career of a distinguished and much-loved writer.