The Purveyor Of Enchantment [Paperback]

'Wonderfully funny, with a strong undertow ... a joy to read' Deborah Moggach Marika Cobbold is an exceptional novelist Observer I strongly recommend The Purveyor of Enchantment Daily Mail --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

A magical new novel by the author of the bestselling Guppies for Tea.

A life lived in fear is a life half lived,' Clementine Hope's sister, Ophelia, is fond of quoting to her. Clementine lives in a small Hampshire town, teaching music and working on a collection of fairy tales left to her by her Great Aunt Elvia. But mostly she worries. She worries about the rising crime rate, about disease and illness, about offending God and, in the rare moments when she is at peace with Him, about upsetting the man in the carpet shop or Mrs Challis who runs the cafe where she meets with her friend Jessica. Then, at a moment of real crisis, Clementine sees the destructive quality of fear, and she resolves to change and to make amends. To do so, she must turn from Damsel in Distress into Knight Errant, slay her personal dragon, and rescue Prince Charming in the process.

'A life lived in fear is a life half lived,' Clementine Hope's sister, Ophelia, is fond of quoting to her. Clementine, thirty-something and newly divorced, lives in a small Hampshire town, teaching music and working on a collection of fairy tales left to her by her Great Aunt Elvira. But mostly she worries. She worries about the rising crime rate. She worries about disease and illness, about offending God and, in the rare moments when she is at peace with Him, about upsetting the man in the carpet shop or Mrs Challis who runs the cafe where she meets with her friend Jessica. Clementine enjoys as little of the life around her as any Sleeping Beauty. Just as she thinks she has found love with Nathaniel Scott, the son of her next-door neighbour, her fears cause her to lose him. Then, at a moment of real crisis, Clementine sees the destructive quality of her life and resolves to change and make amends. To do so she must turn from victim to heroine, slay her personal dragon of fears and phobias, and rescue her own Prince Charming.

Marika Cobbold was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, where her father was Editor and Publisher for the daily newspaper of western Sweden. She was educated in Gothenburg but in her teens spent some time in England and France in order to learn the languages. Her first novel, Guppies for Tea, was published by Black Swan in 1993 and was selected for the first W.H.Smith Fresh Talent promotion and shortlisted for the Sunday Express Book of the Year Award. Her later novels, A Rival Creation and The Purveyor of Enchantment, are also published by Black Swan. Marika Cobbold has lived in England since the 1970s and now resides in London.