Puffball (Paperback, New Ed)

Richard and Liffey haven't been married long. They are still madly in love, and lust, and so, when Liffey suggests moving out of London to a country cottage in the middle of Somerset, Richard puts aside his reservations; he wants his young, pretty wife to be happy, after all.

But then the real world intervenes, and Richard must remain in London during the week and see his Liffey, now pregnant, only on weekends. And so that leaves poor Liffey, pregnant and alone, burdened, confused and frustrated by biological impulses which are suddenly overwhelming her. Can she rely on Mabs, her seemingly kindly neighbour, and Tucker, her rather over-friendly husband, for solace? Surely there can't be anything sinister in their motives – can there? At least she has no reason to doubt Richard's love for her – or does she?

With wit, wisdom, and a little dose of witchery, Fay Weldon reveals the conflicts that arise from the eternal struggle between male and female.

'Magical – she lays out the ingredients of her brew with a kind of manipulative glee, coolly moulding her characters and then neatly skewering them with mockery.'
'Daily Mail'