The scene is Naples, against whose ancient and fantastic background the modern action takes place.

Among the protagonists is Jenny, young and pretty, who has come to Naples in flight from a sombre drama, unaware that a larger drama waits her there.

She has an introduction to a Neapolitan woman, and one day she idly follows it up. This is her leap through the looking glass.

From our much loved writer Shirley Hazzard, comes a ravishing novel set in Naples - full of observation, feeling, love and life.

About the Author
Born in Sydney in 1931 to a Welsh father and Scottish mother. After the end of the Second World War her father joined the Foreign Service and was posted in Hong Kong and there at the age of sixteen, Shirley Hazzard began working for the British Combined Intelligence Services before the family moved to New Zealand. At twenty she moved to New York and there she worked for the United Nations throughout much of the 1950s, which included a posting to Naples, a city that became much loved by her. She married Francis Steegmuller, translator and biographer in 1963 and they divided their time between Italy and New York. They were introduced by Muriel Spark. Shirley Hazzard wrote three non-fiction books including a memoir of her friendship with Graham Greene, Greene on Capri. Her last novel, The Great Fire, won the 2003 National Book Award for fiction and the Miles Franklin Award, was shortlisted for The Women's Prize for Fiction (then called The Orange) and named a Book of the Year by The Economist. She died in 2016, aged eight-five.

Reviews
Miss Hazzard's mind is a revolving light that picks a scene, holds it in utmost clarity for a moment against the surrounding darkness and moves on * New York TIMES *
Shirley Hazzard achieves an extraordinary density of tone in this slim little book, which is as poised and vivid today as when it was first published in 1970 * IRISH TIMES *


Awards
Short-listed for Man Booker Prize 2010 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9781860494543
Author Shirley Hazzard
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint Virago Press Ltd
Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
Weight(grams) 134g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 132mm * 13mm