The Sweet Dove Died

‘Barbara Pym is one of my most favourite novelists. Few other writers have given me more laughter and more pleasure’ – Jilly Cooper, author of Rivals ‘Life is cruel and we do terrible things to each other.’ The lives of Humphrey and James Boyce, a seasoned antique dealer and his good-looking nephew, are changed for ever when the elegant Leonora Eyre glides into their bustling Bond Street salesroom, delicate as porcelain, cool as ice. An impassioned bid lands her a coveted book and two equally enthralled companions. As the enigmatic Leonora navigates these relationships, others are drawn into her mysterious and intoxicating web, and a world of human complexities and simmering desires is exposed. Pym brings her unique voice to this darkly comic exploration of love, loneliness and jealousy. ‘I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym’ – Richard Osman, author of The Thursday Murder Club ‘Faultless’ – The Guardian ‘Her characters are all meticulously impaled on the delicate pins of a wit that is as scrupulous as it is deadly’ – The Observer ‘A coldly funny book’ – The Sunday Telegraph ‘The critics who have recently insisted on Miss Pym’s too long neglected gifts have not been wrong’ – Financial Times