A House Unlocked is Booker Prize winning author Penelope Lively's classic memoir.

The only child of divorced parents, Penelope Lively was often sent to stay at her grandparents' country house Golsoncott. Years later, as the house was sold out of the family, she began to piece together the lives of those she knew fifty years before.

In a needlework sampler, she sees her grandmother and the wartime children that she sheltered under her roof in 1940. Potted meat jars remind her of the ritual of doing the flowers for church. The smell of the harness room brings her Aunt Rachel - avant-garde artist, fervent horserider - vividly back to life.

In A House Unlocked, Penelope Lively delves into the domestic past of her former home, and tells of her own youth and the contrasts between life today and the way they lived then.

'Wonderful. Lively is brilliant and original . . . Every page of this book captures your attention' Daily Mail

'Remarkable, richly enjoyable . . . a captivating memoir' Helen Dunmore, The Times

'Engaging, curious, compelling, remarkable . . . Any time spent with Penelope Lively is a joy' Observer

About the Author
Penelope Lively has written many prize-winning novels for adults and children. They include: The Road To Lichfield, According To Mark, Moon Tiger (which won the 1987 Booker Prize), Heat Wave, Spiderweb, The Photograph, Making It Up, Consequences and Family Album. Penelope Lively lives in London.

Reviews
Wonderful. Lively is brilliant and original . . . Every page of this book captures your attention * Daily Mail *
Remarkable, richly enjoyable ... a captivating memoir -- Helen Dunmore * The Times *
Engaging, curious, compelling, remarkable ... Any time spent with Penelope Lively is a joy * Observer *
An ingenious memoir. The enchantment lies in its personal narrative: the portrait of a family and its progress through the twentieth century * Literary Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9780141001647
Author Penelope Lively
Format Paperback
Page Count 240
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 180g
Dimensions(mm) 197mm * 129mm * 17mm