A Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman

Short fiction from “a fastidious chronicler of the vagaries of women’s lives in England since the early nineteen-sixties” (Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker).   In stories that explore marriage, female friendships, the English tourist abroad, love affairs with houses, peace demonstrations, gin and tonics, cultural TV programs, and more, Margaret Drabble showcases her insight into the lives of women. This decade-spanning collection not only reveals how the female experience has—and hasn’t—changed; it also demonstrates the talent that has earned Drabble multiple literary honors, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and a Golden PEN Award, and made her “one of the United Kingdom’s finest contemporary fiction writers” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).