Potent' Spectator'A wonderful, perfectly-pitched novel: full of delightful intrigue and wry insight about the human predicament and its unique tensions' William Boyd Full of humour, pathos and poignancy' Irish Independent'Vesna Goldsworthy's finely wrought third novel explodes into life. Iron Curtain is a sly, elegant human drama that challenges the myths we tell ourselves. With sharp wit and tender precision, Vesna Goldsworthy unpicks the failures of family and state. The rented flat is grim and the food is disgusting but she is with the man she loves and there are no hidden cameras to record her every move.īut then Milena discovers that Jason's idea of freedom hurts even more. 1980s London defies her privileged expectations.

Still, they fall into bed together, and before long Milena is secretly planning to escape to Britain.

When she meets Jason, a confident British poet, Milena is appalled by his political naivety and his poor choice of footwear. She enjoys limitless luxury and limited freedom the end of the Cold War seems unimaginable. Milena is a Red Princess living in a Soviet Satellite state in the 1980s. 'A piercingly evocative East-West love story' The Times 'A book so full of steel and compassion that it stands glitteringly apart' Rachel Cusk Iron Curtain, Vesna Goldsworthy ( HB Feb 2022, PB from March 2023) £9.99 She's just a maid - but what can she see that others overlook? Escapist, charming and introducing a truly original heroine, The Maid is a story about how the truth isn't always black and white - it's found in the dirtier, grey areas in between.

And as Molly becomes embroiled in the hunt for the truth, following the clues whispering in the hallways of the Regency Grand, she discovers a power she never knew was there. This isn't a mess that can be easily cleaned up. She's just a maid - why should anyone take notice? But Molly is thrown into the spotlight when she discovers an infamous guest, Mr Black, very dead in his bed. She's used to being invisible in her job at the Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows and wiping away the grime, dust and secrets of the guests passing through. Your dirty laundry.īut what do you know about me? Molly the maid is all alone in the world. THE NO.1 NEW YORK TIMES & SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER The Maid, Rita Prose ( paperback from end April 2023 ) £8.99

Julian barnes elizabeth finch review