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Isamay is named after her two grandmothers. Aged nearly thirty she is living with Ian, her partner, and occupied with the writing of an MA thesis about the links between grandmothers and granddaughters. Her progress is repeatedly interrupted by her own relations with her grandmothers.

Isa is distinguished and aloof and, as the story progresses, we learn of two startling secrets that she is keeping.

May is relatively simple and down to earth, but she, too, possibly has a dreadful secret that Isamay’s mother hints at. Both grandmothers cherish their relationships with Isamay and demand her company and understanding.

The complex family relationships come to a head when Ian’s family background is abruptly revealed. Isamay has a series of crises on her hands, as well as her thesis to complete and the prospect of becoming a mother herself.

Isamay’s struggles are interspersed with studies of grandmothers in history ranging from Queen Victoria to Sarah Bernhardt. There is a whole range of lives explored in this intelligent novel and the reader is informed, moved and amused as Margaret Forster’s story develops.

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