01841 533804  

Shy Creatures

£9.99

Croydon, 1964. Helen Hansford is in her thirties and an art therapist in a psychiatric hospital where she has been having a long love affair with Gil: a charismatic, married doctor. One spring afternoon they receive a call about a disturbance from a derelict house not far from Helen’s home. A 37-year-old man called William Tapping, with a beard down to his waist, has been discovered along with his elderly aunt. It is clear he has been shut up in the house for decades, but when it emerges that William is a talented artist, Helen is determined to discover his story.

In stock

Description

From the author of bestselling sensation Small Pleasures comes an extraordinary story of love, family and the joy of freedom.

**PRE-ORDER NOW**

‘Clare Chambers is a genius’ INDIA KNIGHT

‘Just as good – if not better – than Small PleasuresINDEPENDENT

‘As compelling as you want fiction to be’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘One of our most talented authors’ GUARDIAN

‘Extraordinary’ FINANCIAL TIMES

It all started the weekend the Hidden Man came to Westbury Park . . .

Croydon, 1964. Art therapist Helen Hansford is working in a psychiatric hospital, where she has been having passionate but precarious affair with her married colleague, the charismatic Dr Gil Rudden.

Helen’s structured life is upended when William Tapping – a silent, thirty-seven-year-old man with a beard down to his waist – arrives at the hospital. As Helen helps William express himself through art, she becomes increasingly entangled in his mysterious past.

Inspired by a true story, Shy Creatures is a life-affirming exploration of loneliness, love and the quiet forces that shape our lives, reminding us that freedom can come in unexpected forms.

‘Reading a Clare Chambers novel can feel like entering a modest bungalow and finding yourself in a cathedral’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘A warm, multi-layered mystery brimming with all the same nostalgia, wit and tenderness as Small Pleasuresi PAPER

‘A lively, funny, forgiving novel’ PATRICK GALE

‘Chambers is such a humane writer and this novel is full of exquisite detail’ EVENING STANDARD

‘A beautiful story of unfolding secrets and unforeseen consequences’ HOLLY GRAMAZIO, author of THE HUSBANDS

*Small Pleasures was a Silver Award bestseller according to Nielsen BookScan UK, 10 November 2023

Additional information

Weight 0.28 kg
Dimensions 18.8 × 12.7 × 3 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

392

Language

English

Edition

1st paperback ed

Dewey

823.92 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K