Ailsa and Humphrey met as children by a grey, northern sea in post-war Britain. She, freckled and furious; he, quietly studious; both fascinated by the other. Years later, their lives collide as adults and burst into an intense yet brief love affair. Now, after thirty years apart and at the close of the 20th century, their lives are converging once again as they hurtle towards each other by plane and train - their motivations, regrets and decisions laid bare.With the gloriously astute eye that Margaret Drabble is celebrated for, The Sea Lady is an account of first and last love; of the lapping of time at our ankles, gradually eroding and shaping our lives.
Margaret Drabble Book order
Margaret Drabble is an author whose works delve into the depths of human experience with piercing intellect and a distinctive style. Her novels frequently explore themes of memory, identity, and the intricate complexities of relationships, examining how the past shapes an individual's present. Drabble masterfully crafts characters with psychological depth, and her prose is renowned for its precision and intellectual richness. Her literary contribution lies in her persistent investigation into the complexities of modern life and the human psyche.







- 2023
- 2020
The Pattern in the Carpet
- 384 pages
- 14 hours of reading
A beautifully written and deeply personal book on the jigsaw and the part it plays in the patchwork of its distinguished author's life. A mix of memoir, jigsaw history and the strange delights of puzzling
- 2019
At the Pond
- 198 pages
- 7 hours of reading
Combining personal reminiscence with reflections on the history of the place over the years and through the seasons, for the first time this collection brings together writers' impressions of the Pond.
- 2019
Bringing together new short stories by ten of the city’s most celebrated writers. From young creatives and refugees, to scrap metal collectors and student radicals, these stories offer ten different look-out points from which to gaze down on the ever-changing face of the ‘Steel City’.
- 2016
The Dark Flood Rises
- 336 pages
- 12 hours of reading
An absolute tour de force LINDA GRANT Guardian, Best Books of the Year
- 2014
The Pure Gold Baby
- 291 pages
- 11 hours of reading
The Pure Gold Baby is the story of Anna, a little girl with a luminescent quality, her mother, Jess, and the community that envelops them. A happy child, Anna is the unchanging core of this journey spanning decades and continents through the lives of those that love her. This profoundly engaging portrait of family, friendship, and the way we care for each other is a powerful reminder, if one were needed, of Margaret Drabble's literary greatness.
- 2012
Exploring themes of marriage, female friendships, and cultural experiences, this collection showcases Margaret Drabble's sharp and humorous short fiction. Her keen insights into character and place reveal the complexities of women's lives over the past fifty years. The stories touch on various aspects of modern life, from love affairs with houses to social demonstrations. An introduction by Spanish academic Jose Fernandez contextualizes the work within Drabble's life and broader literary contributions, highlighting her unique brilliance as a storyteller.
- 2012
A Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman
- 256 pages
- 9 hours of reading
A collection of tales that range from one man's honeymooning epiphany in Hassan's Tower to the journeying fantasies of A Voyage to Cythera, and the joy of The Merry Widow which explore cruel and loving relationships, social change and personal obsessions.
- 2012
'The funniest and best-written novel I have seen for a very long time' Auberon WaughHoward Kirk, product of the Swinging Sixties, radical university lecturer, and one half of a very modern marriage, is throwing a party. The night will have all sorts of repercussions: for Henry Beamish, Howard's desperate and easily neglected friend, and for Howard's wife Barbara, promiscuous '70s liberal and exhausted victim of motherhood. The History Man is Malcolm Bradbury's masterpiece and the definitive campus novel of the 1970s. It brilliantly satirizes a world of academic power struggles and abuse at the highest level as the Machiavellian Howard effortlessly seduces his way around campus.
- 2011
Perec was a leading exponent of French literary surrealism who found humour - and pathos - in the human need for classification. Thoughts of Sorts is itself unclassifiable, a unique collection of philosophical riffs on his obsession with lists, puzzles, catalogues, and taxonomies. Introduced by Margaret Drabble.

