Synopses & Reviews
With prose that is vibrant witty and off-the-wall,
The Queen of the Tambourine traces the emotional breakdown--and eventual restoration--of Eliza Peabody, a smart and wildly imaginative woman who has become unbearably isolated in her prosperous home in present-day South London. The letters Eliza writes to her neighbor, a woman whom she hardly knows, reveal the story of her self-propelled descent into madness. Eliza must reach the very bottom of her inner downward spiral before she can once again find health and serenity. The story of a woman's confrontation with the ideas and realities of sanity,
The Queen of Tambourine will delight readers who enjoy the works of Anita Brookner, Sybille Bedford, Muriel Spark, and Sylvia Plath.
Review
"Funny and moving...deserves a warm welcome on this side of the Atlantic." --Nina Sonenburg,
The New York Times Book Review"For readers with a taste for psychological portraiture and subtle wit...Surprise is less important to this novel than intelligent psychological inquiry. Just by telling her own story, Eliza engages in exactly that, with happy results for her and for the reader as well." --Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World
"This is a truly superb and moving novel." --Katherine A. Powers, The Boston Globe Book Review
"Ingenious...Ms. Gardam's oblique approach is humorous and expertly controlled." --The Atlantic Monthly
About the Author
Jane Gardam has written six novels and seven collections of short stories. Twice a winner of the Whitbread Award and once a runner-up for the Booker Prize, she lives in East Kent, England.