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The Girls

By John Bowen
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Brief Description
Macabre comedy, crime thriller, cosy romance: The Girls is a weird and wonderful tale of two women murderously desperate to stay together. In summer, and particularly when the wind blows south-west across the lawn, the sceptic tank gives out a strong stench... "Oh, it is a... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2800
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Macabre comedy, crime thriller, cosy romance: The Girls is a weird and wonderful tale of two women murderously desperate to stay together.

In summer, and particularly when the wind blows south-west across the lawn, the sceptic tank gives out a strong stench... "Oh, it is a body," the girls say. "We have a body in there. No one you know. It decomposes, of course, but so slowly one quite despairs."

In their lovely, quiet Cotswolds village, Janet and Susan are known to the villagers simply as 'the girls'. Partners in love and work, co-proprietors of a picturesque shop, they lead an enviable, enviably settled life.

But when a moment of small, surprising passion intrudes into the equilibrium of their world, the girls' lives take a deeply unsettling turn. First comes motherhood. Then comes murder.

Part-macabre comedy, part-crime thriller, part-cosy romance, John Bowen's The Girls is a novel like none other. Told with warmth, affection and fun, yet laced with darkness and unease, 'the girls' will ensure you never look on Middle England quite so quaintly again.

'Absolutely wicked' - Armistead Maupin

'Startlingly offbeat' - Gore Vidal

For people who like Myra Breckinridge as well as Miss Marple; fans of Beryl Bainbridge, Russell Greenan and Patricia Highsmith; those who feel Barbara Pym-ish on some days and Stephen King-ish on others... The Girls charms us as only certain tales 'of village life' can. - Washington Post

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781529970982

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 June 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 334g

Pages: 256

Collections

Classic Fiction Classic General Fiction Comedic Crime Crime & Thriller Fiction General Fiction Humour John Bowen Literary Fiction Penguin Books

About the Author

John Bowen (1924-2019) was born in what was then Calcutta, India, before being sent to England at the age of four to be reared by an uncle and aunt. He worked in journalism and advertising while publishing his first novels, including the apocalyptic After the Rain, then began a successful career writing for the stage and for television, including the much-lauded folk-horror \"Play for Today\" Robin Redbreast (1970).

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    A wry, macabre tale of simple country living, brutal murder, and a reasonably happy couple, from our 'most startlingly offbeat suspense novelist' (Gore Vidal). In their lovely old Cotswolds village, Janet and Susan are known to all the other villagers as the girls—a fixture. Partners in love and work, co-proprietors of a picturesque shop specialising in the work of local...
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