SALE ON NOW! PROMOTIONS

Close Notification

Your cart does not contain any items

Learning To Swim

Clare Chambers

$29.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

QTY:

English
Arrow Books Ltd
15 November 1998
From the critically acclaimed author of SMALL PLEASURES

From the highly-acclaimed author of SMALL PLEASURES - longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021

Abigail Jex never expected to see any of the Radley household again.

The Radley's were extraordinary, captivating creatures transplanted from a bohemian corner of North London to outer suburbia, and the young Abigail found herself drawn into their magic circle- the eccentric Frances, her new best friend; Frances' mother, the liberated, headstrong Lexi; and of course the brilliant, beautiful Rad.

Abigail thought she'd banished the ghost of her life with them and the catastrophe that ended it, but thirteen years later a chance encounter forces her to acknowledge that the spell is far from broken...

Praise for Clare Chambers-

'Modern, intelligently observed and highly original' Daily Mail

'This delicious novel is a joy from beginning to end - a perfect novel' Lisa Jewell

'Charming - A funny and moving story with a great deal of style' Sunday Telegraph

'A spirited account of growing up and falling in love' Good Housekeeping

'An intelligent and escapist read - well written, and very funny' Daily Express
By:  
Imprint:   Arrow Books Ltd
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 197mm,  Width: 129mm,  Spine: 23mm
Weight:   271g
ISBN:   9780099277637
ISBN 10:   0099277638
Pages:   384
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Clare Chambers was born in south east London in 1966. She studied English at Oxford and spent the year after graduating in New Zealand, where she wrote her first novel, Uncertain Terms, published when she was 25. She has since written eight further novels, including Learning to Swim (Century 1998) which won the Romantic Novelists' Association best novel award and was adapted as a Radio 4 play, and In a Good Light (Century 2004) which was longlisted for the Whitbread best novel prize. Clare began her career as a secretary at the publisher Andre Deutsch, when Diana Athill was still at the helm. They not only published her first novel, but made her type her own contract. In due course she went on to become a fiction and non-fiction editor there herself, until leaving to raise a family and concentrate on her own writing. Some of the experiences of working for an eccentric, independent publisher in the pre-digital era found their way into her novel The Editor's Wife (Century, 2007). When her three children were teenagers, inspired by their reading habits, she produced two YA novels, Bright Girls (HarperCollins 2009) and Burning Secrets (HarperCollins 2011). Her most recent novel is Small Pleasures (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2020). She takes up a post as Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the University of Kent in September 2020.

Reviews for Learning To Swim

Abigail, product of a timid surburban background, is bedazzled by the mildly bohemian Radleys: Frances becomes her best friend; she falls in love with Marcus. A halcyon period carries her through adolescence until a quarrel and freakish tragedy sever their intimacy. Thirteen years later Abigail re-encounters Marcus (now a sophisticated musician) to find the magic undimmed. Warm, funny and touching, this was the winner of the 1999 Romantic Novel of the Year award. (Kirkus UK)


  • Winner of Parker Romantic Novel of the Year Award 1999
  • Winner of Parker Romantic Novel of the Year Award 1999.

See Also