Alice

Sometimes you have to return to the past…

Shortly after the death of her much-loved husband, Alice Willoughby decides to return to Fernhust, her late aunt’s rambling house on the Sussex Downs and scene to a great part of her happy childhood.

Settling down to rebuild her life, Alice finds herself caught between a wistful nostalgia for her youth and a growing sense of guilt for her absence during her Aunt Sophie’s last pitiful years.

A guilt no doubt heightened by the wily charms of her manipulative old headmistress, Miss Vine.

Yet Alice’s weakening confidence is greatly bolstered by her friendship with Paul, an attractive antiques dealer and newcomer to the village.

With Paul’s warmth and gentle manners, Alice can’t help but feel pleased with his curious familiarity with Aunt Sophie’s home.

But her pleasure is undermined by a nagging unease.

Why did her aunt fail to make a provision in her will for her loyal housekeeper Nancy?

Such a cruel, inexplicable omission.

As Alice tackles this puzzle, she discovers that things, objects and people are not always quite what they seem...

With its wittily portrayed cast of characters, Alice is a sharply observed and affectionate portrait of one woman’s triumph of hope over despair.

Praise for Eva Hanagan

‘Wittily observant’ - The Daily Express

‘Exquisite’ – Kirkus Reviews

Eva Hanagan was a Scottish author, who died at the age of 85, in 2009. During a career in Vienna during the Second World War, Hanagan met her husband, with whom she had two sons. She published her first novel, In Thrall, in 1977. Following which, there was a fairly rapid succession of novels: Playmates (1978), and A Knock at the Door (1982) . She settled in Sussex, from where she authored her novels.