Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
19 used & new from £3.12

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Cupboard
 
See larger image
 

The Cupboard (Paperback)

by Rose Tremain (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.00 (25%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Saturday, July 11? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
13 new from £3.13 6 used from £3.12
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover (New edition) 3 used & new from £5.48
Paperback (New edition) 7 used & new from £0.33

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Sacred Country by Rose Tremain

The Cupboard + Sacred Country
Price For Both: £11.98

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: The Cupboard by Rose Tremain

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Sacred Country by Rose Tremain

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Sacred Country

Sacred Country

by Rose Tremain
4.7 out of 5 stars (10)  £5.99
Colonel's Daughter

Colonel's Daughter

by Rose Tremain
£5.99
The Way I Found Her

The Way I Found Her

by Rose Tremain
4.1 out of 5 stars (13)  £6.29
Letter to Sister Benedicta

Letter to Sister Benedicta

by Rose Tremain
£5.99
The Road Home

The Road Home

by Rose Tremain
3.9 out of 5 stars (73)  £3.20
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New Ed edition (2 Sep 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099284170
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099284178
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 16,844 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #6 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > T > Tremain, Rose

Product Description

Product Description
When Erica March composes herself to die in a cupboard, she knows that Ralph Pears will find her. For at the age of 87, she had told the young journalist the richly colourful story of her life as novelist, political activist and, above all, lover, from childhood in Suffolk, Paris between the wars, to oblivion in post-war London. At the end of Ralph's patient probings only one secret remains: the mystery inside one constant object in her life - her cupboard.

About the Author
Rose Tremain lives in North London and Norwich, with the biographer Richard Holmes. Her books have won many prizes including the Whitbread Novel of the Year, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Prix Femina Etranger, the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Angel Literary Award and the Sunday Express Book of the Year. Restoration was shortlisted for the Booker and made into a film; The Colour was shortlisted for the Orange and selected by the Daily Mail Reading Club. Her most recent collection, The Darkness of Wallis Simpson, was shortlisted for both the First National Short story Award and the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. Two of her books (The Colour and The Way I Found Her) are in development as films, and she is currently working on a TV screenplay to star Sir Ian McKellen.

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Cupboard
50% buy the item featured on this page:
The Cupboard 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
£5.99
Sacred Country
19% buy
Sacred Country 4.7 out of 5 stars (10)
£5.99
The Road Home
13% buy
The Road Home 3.9 out of 5 stars (73)
£3.20
Colonel's Daughter
9% buy
Colonel's Daughter
£5.99

 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Rose Tremain - a mountain goat of a writer!, 19 Feb 2004
By titaniamoth (London UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Like a mountain goat, Tremain amazes by her agility and sure footedness, negotiating high peaks, impervious to the sheer and deadly drops beneath! In this book, the 'drops' or 'traps' which a lesser writer would have fallen into, she effortlessly avoids.

Her central character, whose life and writing we explore through conversations with an male American journalist, is a very elderly English woman, who has lived through most of the 20th century. Erica is a wonderful, fierce, tender, fragile, passionate and engaged woman. She has breathed in, engaged with, inspired, and been inspired by life. She, as Ralph, the journalist, discovers, lives with and through love - not only sexual love, but an ability to live from the heart and to really live a life in the moment. This means her life is large, joyous, terrifying, fraught with periods of madness, despair, doubt, pleasure etc etc.

Inevitably, in describing such a character, there is the danger for the writer, either of overblown and fulsome prose, or of failing to fully describe, becuase of a fear of being overblown. Tremain avoids these pitfalls - Erica is seen through the distancing device of the youngish, male American - and it is through his perpective on her and her writing, that we discover her. It is also through her effect on him which causes him to look at his own more narrow, mundane and disengaged life, that Tremain makes us look at our own lives - do we live 'Ralph' or do we live 'Erica'.

Not only does Tremain 'tell stories' and explore characters beautifully - she is also a fine, fine, poetic writer - without ever ramming the beauty of her writing down your throat - there is no self-indulgence in her writing, just every now and again, a phrase or an image will stop you in your tracks and remind you how crafted her writing style, her choice of words, her structure is.

She is at the same time an 'easy' read - and a read of depth.

I've never read a book of hers which has not delighted me - they are all VERY different in subject matter - she is a writer with many, many books inside her, not one book endlessly re-presented.

Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Stunning, 12 Nov 2000
By A Customer
It took a few attempts to engage with "The Cupboard," but I was soon hooked and I read the majority of the book in a day. I simply loved the main character for her wit, courage, wisdom and eccentricity, which is, when all said and done a credit to Rose Tremain, who as usual has written a character with profound depth and credibility. This book made me change my outlook on life, which sounds trite, but when faced with the challenges of life as a young woman, I think about the courage the protagonist had in "The Cupboard" and I am revived!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A moving novel told from several perspectives, 14 Mar 2000
By A Customer
After reading this novel, I felt as if I had actually met Erica March, the vodka-drinking 87-year-old. Much of the novel consists of her conversations with an American journalist, who hopes that by understanding Erica's life and loves he will be better equipped to deal with his own. With the major historical events of the twentieth century as the backdrop, the novel leads up to an ending that is both happy and sad.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Elemis Resurface and Renew Skin Care Gift Set of 4 Products
From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

Discover Health & Beauty

 

More From R. Tremain

The Road Home

The Road Home by Rose Tremain

`Rose Tremain touches a raw contemporary nerve in this well-judged tale' Read more
£7.99 £3.20

 

Up to 50% off Dental Care

Braun Oral-B Professional Care 6000 Rechargeable Toothbrush - Pack of 2
Put a sparkle in your smile with up to 50% off selected Oral-B and Philips rechargeable toothbrushes.

Up to 50% off power toothbrushes

 

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

Learn more about Gift Certificates

 
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates