The Home

"A writer who can knock spots off most of her contemporaries. - The Guardian

"What I loved most about The Home is the tone of voice. Mortimer is drily funny and quite odd, and fans of Muriel Spark or Beryl Bainbridgewill find a lot to enjoy. Her descriptions of people are always slightly off-kilter and wonderful." --Stuck in a Book

"Achingly sad and beautifully written, 'The Home' examines the meaning of home in a context from the past, but which I am sure will resonate with women, even today." --Bag Full of Books

"Originally published in 1958, a full decade before abortion was legalized in the U.K., the book is as salient a study of the disparate views and persistent inequities around reproductive health care for present-day U.S. readers as it is illuminating of midcentury English attitudes and conditions. A wry dissection of domestic despair and affluent ennui and a topical introduction to Mortimer's body of literary work." - Kirkus (starred review) on Daddy's Gone A-Hunting

"Penelope Mortimer's 64-year-old novel is a powerful argument for letting women choose when and whether they become a parent . . . With Daddy's Gone a-Hunting, she steps lightly into a sparse and immensely tricky genre, the literature of parental regret.'" - Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic on Daddy's Gone A-Hunting

"A simmering portrait of suburban malaise, originally published in 1958 . . . Mortimer (1918-1999) avoids easy answers in her nuanced take on the life of a woman who is quietly compromised. This easily earns a place on the shelf of noteworthy early feminist literature." - Publishers Weekly on Daddy's Gone A-Hunting

"Better dialogue, more deftly characterized individuals or a prose style more precise and firm is not often encountered in modern fiction. Mrs. Mortimer is impressively expert." - Orville Prescott, New York Times

"Mortimer peels several layers of skin off the subjects of motherhood, marriage, and monogamy." - Nick Hornby, The Believer on The Pumpkin Eater