GOLD MEDAL WINNER 2012 eLIT AWARDS, AMAZON BESTSELLER

On the morning of her release from prison, the hottest day on record in England, Janice Bailey makes her way to a boarding house in London, and discovers a bizarre new world.

This moving collection of linked short stories begins with 'When Janice Bailey Walked', an award-winning story first published in the Connecticut Review, and continues with six more stories as told by the eccentric residents of Number 17, London Road, thus illuminating a little-known side of the most beautiful city in Europe.

During the course of one day, we meet Bitty, a college drop-out now working in an antique shop, waiting nervously in an Italian restaurant to find out if her American boyfriend is about to dump her. And Nora, the landlady of the boarding house, a romance novelist obsessed with the Queen, who finds herself hotly pursued by Len, landlord of the local pub. Then there's Anna, Nora's teenage daughter, waiting all alone at netball camp because her mother, otherwise engaged, has forgotten to collect her, and Isobel, daughter of a Shakespearean actress, in the aftermath of a crisis. Finally there's Mandy, who must choose between a life of crime or an alternate path.

Praise for LONDON ROAD: LINKED STORIES:
"... reminiscent of the writer who appears in one of the stories: the great Katherine Mansfield."
Cynthia Rogerson, winner, V.S. Pritchett Memorial Prize for a Short Story, UK

"Tales with subtle, positive but never saccharine transformations that feel fully earned." Kirkus Recommended Review

REVIEW BY NINA SANKOVITCH, READ ALL DAY
"The short shorts in Tessa Smith McGovern's collection London Road: Linked Stories really are made to fit within the palm of your hand -- her delightful and fresh stories are available as apps for your phone or can be converted for your e-reader.

Whatever way you take in the words of McGovern, just make sure you do. Her stories link the lives of residents in a halfway house on the outskirts of London. Based largely on McGovern's own experiences -- her mother operated a Halfway House in Sussex -- , her characters come alive through a style that is unique and lovely. McGovern uses words both easily and luxuriously and her ability to evoke place, emotion, and possibility all within the confines of a very short story is amazing. I felt as if I personally knew each character, from Janice to Nora to Isobel to Bitty, and even Len down at the pub, and I cared about them all."

EXCERPT: WHEN JANICE BAILEY WALKED
The day Janice Bailey was released from prison was the hottest Friday on record in England. Even at eight thirty in the morning, heat waves rippled across yellow and brown fields and, as Janice walked away from the metallic clank of the closing door of Chorley Prison, her white pumps stuck to the black top, and birds sat silently in the trees.

She paused, remembering what she had been told: 'Turn left outside the gate and keep going for twenty minutes until you come to the train station.' The prison was off the bus route, so if no-one met you, you had to walk to the station in Chorley and catch a train to - where? London, Janice supposed. She hadn't made any plans. What was the point? She was a fifty seven year old convicted criminal with no family - her parents were both dead and she'd never had children - and no prospect of a job. Who would want to hire her? She'd tried to ignore her release day, creeping nearer, because, if she had a choice, she would rather stay in prison.

Janice swung the Tesco's carrier bag over her shoulder and started walking. The bag contained everything she brought with her five years ago: three £20 notes, her building society passbook which now held £1,113.23 (interest at 2%), a soft denim purse complete with Shining Red lipstick and a regular tampon plus keys to a flat she no longer rented and a photograph of a man she no longer loved.

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• Literature & FictionBritish & IrishAnthologies
• Literature & FictionBritish & IrishShort Stories
• Literature & FictionShort StoriesShort Stories

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