or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
471 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy (Paperback)

by Fiona Neill (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
Price: £4.97 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.02 (29%)
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 Tuesday, November 24? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
38 new from £1.80 430 used from £0.01 3 collectible from £0.98
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 48 used & new from £0.01
Paperback (Export e.) 16 used & new from £0.01

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Frequently Bought Together

The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy + Secret Diary of a Demented Housewife + Friends, Lovers and Other Indiscretions
Price For All Three: £18.21

Show availability and delivery details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Secret Diary of a Demented Housewife

Secret Diary of a Demented Housewife

by Niamh Greene
3.8 out of 5 stars (32)  £5.48
Slummy Mummy

Slummy Mummy

by Fiona Neill
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £7.13
Friends, Lovers and Other Indiscretions

Friends, Lovers and Other Indiscretions

by Fiona Neill
3.5 out of 5 stars (6)  £7.76
The Rise and Fall of a Yummy Mummy

The Rise and Fall of a Yummy Mummy

by Polly Williams
4.3 out of 5 stars (31)  £5.48
Confessions of a Demented Housewife: The Celebrity Year

Confessions of a Demented Housewife: The Celebrity Year

by Niamh Greene
1.8 out of 5 stars (5)  £4.87
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 432 pages
  • Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd (31 Jan 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099502887
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099502883
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 51,787 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review

"Perfect for failed domestic goddesses everywhere"
--"Heat"
"This will have you laughing out loud"
--"Star Magazine"
"Witty, observant and supremely intelligent"
--"The Times" --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


Telegraph

`There is something of Bridget Jones's hopeless-but-adorable
quality about Lucy...one wonders at first how someone this disorganised
could ever have produced a flagship news programme, but Neill's hilarious
depiction of the manifold daily perils of stay-at-home motherhood is so
convincing that it soon looks like the most challenging job in the world -
and Lucy is all the more sympathetic simply for staying afloat' --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(6)
(5)
(4)
(4)
(3)
(3)
See all 7 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy
79% buy the item featured on this page:
The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy 3.9 out of 5 stars (36)
£4.97
Friends, Lovers and Other Indiscretions
10% buy
Friends, Lovers and Other Indiscretions 3.5 out of 5 stars (6)
£7.76
Secret Diary of a Demented Housewife
4% buy
Secret Diary of a Demented Housewife 3.8 out of 5 stars (32)
£5.48
Slummy Mummy
4% buy
Slummy Mummy 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£7.13
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

36 Reviews
5 star:
 (17)
4 star:
 (10)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (5)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (36 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Brief Encounter for the 21st Century?, 12 Mar 2007
By J. S. Bundy (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy (Hardcover)
Having enjoyed Fiona Neill's 'Slummy Mummy' column in The Times I was interested to see how she could sustain a whole novel.

By and large she succeeds, and has given us a delightful piece of 'chick lit' set in the school playgrounds and coffee shops of North London. All the characters from her column are on display here and she has taken time to expand on people and relationships where necessary.

The book centres around Lucy, Tom and their three alarmingly likable boys, and the safe secure middle class existence that must have an Aga at the heart of it! However, throw in Lucy's unmarried girlfriends with their, oh so, exciting single sex lives, Tom's mother's last chance at happiness and Lucy's self doubt and you have a pretty good read. It is basically a series of comic instances held together by one or two ongoing threads that do culminate in a satisfying if predictable ending. It does feels episodic at times but that is only to be expected from a novel that grew from a weekly item in a newspaper.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and there were one or two passages about childhood and relationships that actually made me stop and think and realise that Fiona Neill has the potential to write beyond 'chick lit'.

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



 
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and I hate "chick lit" too!, 20 Jun 2007
By Mel (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy (Hardcover)
I also bought this book on the basis of the Times column, despite not being a Mum myself and not liking chick-lit, but the column always makes me laugh and the book didn't disappoint either. It is laugh out loud funny and keeps you giggling thinking about some passages ages after. The characters are great, which is partly why it is so hard to put down. A fantastic beach read for the Summer, there's already a waiting list to borrow my copy!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Some funny moments, but on the whole rather pointless, 3 Jul 2008
By Lauren Thomas - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I picked up 'The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy' after I saw it had been on the Times' bestseller list and also had some glowing reviews from readers on the back. After ploughing through the 400+ pages, I had a distinct feeling of 'so what?'

For starters, Lucy Sweeney is not a completely likeable character. While this may not matter in a brilliantly written book, in 'Slummy Mummy' she grated on me and I found myself feeling exasperated at her stupidity and her bad decisions. Fiona Neill made it seem like once you become a mother, your ability to think sensibly goes out of the window. Added to that, the other characters were so vague that every time one of them appeared I found I had to go back to double check exactly who they were and what their relationship to Lucy was.

In terms of the story itself, it seems to jump from one storyline to another, only for them never to be mentioned again no matter how important they were at the time. It also feels very rushed, as if Neill was told to write this book as quickly as possible, and not worry too much about the quality of the story or the strength of the characters.

All in all, while this book is not horrible (there are some funny moments, hence the 2-stars) it just felt a bit pointless, and there are far superior 'chick-lit' writers out there (such as Sophie Kinsella), so I wouldn't recommend this book above others of the genre. Those with children may get more out of this book than a 26-year old newlywed with no children, such as myself.
Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Rubbish
When I saw this book I thought it was going to be a good read. The title made it sound exciting.
But when I started to read it I didnt understand what it was actually going... Read more
Published 1 month ago by C. L. Horan

5.0 out of 5 stars funny
this book made me laugh well worth a read she has a fantastic way of describing all her characters & her antics as a mother just made me chuckle :)
well written & well done... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Elizabeth Hislop mcglynn

4.0 out of 5 stars A funny, insightful book - shame about the ending!
This book had me gripped from the outset as it's a story about a woman grappling with the problems surrounding motherhood and family life. Read more
Published 3 months ago by TheGerbilTamer

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as it promised
There are parts of this book that made me cringe - the 'giving someone you fancy a bottle of pee to drink instead of water' as one example. Read more
Published 4 months ago by The Goldfish

5.0 out of 5 stars This could have been me..........
I read this book over a 24 hour period, whilst recovering from a 4 year old's birthday party. While not my normal read (more Ian McEwan and Anita Shreve) I was gripped by the fast... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Jo Pixy

4.0 out of 5 stars Been there....
Love the Times column. Went for this like a flash. Identify closely with Slummy Mummy, as I smash a bottle of elderflower cordial all over the kitchen floor because wearing... Read more
Published 8 months ago by J. M. Young

4.0 out of 5 stars I just had to keep reading....
This book was ok to begin with, I actually thought about returning it because I couldn't get in to it. Read more
Published 11 months ago by L. Quick

5.0 out of 5 stars The secret life of slummy mummy

This book is very funny. I really related to the characture. The writting is smooth you just want to carry on reading. It took me 2 days to read.
Published 12 months ago by Heather Smith

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy entertainment
This was slightly different from the usual puerile mummy lit touted about. Whilst being scatty yet endearing, Lucy was also very real and I liked the book for its comic yet grown... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Net

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it!
I identified totally with the "Slummy Mummy." Excellent chick lit. It was recommended by Tony Horne in the Morning on Metro Radio.
Published 12 months ago by Craftydramaqueen

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

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


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject









i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

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