Margaret Drabble moves to Canongate

"The quality of this small girl child was not at first evident. She looked, at first sight, like any newborn baby. She had five fingers on each hand, five toes on each foot. Her mother Jess was happy at the birth of her firstborn, despite the unusual circumstances, and loved her from the moment she saw her. She had not been sure she would do so, but she did. Her daughter proved to be one of the special babies. You know them, you have seen them. You have seen them in parks, in supermarkets, at airports. They are the happy ones, and you notice them because they are happy. They smile at strangers, when you look at them their response is to smile. They were born that way, you say, as you go thoughtfully on your way." 

 

THE PURE GOLD BABY follows Anna, a child of special, unknowable qualities, who also presents profound parental challenges. Over the course of decades, we observe her touch the lives and loves of those around her; both those close-by and those in her and her mother Jess's further orbit. It is a novel about parenthood, about friendship and ultimately about the way in which we care for one another in today's society. 

 

Dame Margaret Drabble was born in Sheffield in 1939 and was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge. She is the author of seventeen highly acclaimed novels including A Summer Bird-Cage, The Millstone, The Peppered Moth, The Red Queen and most recently The Sea Lady. She has also written biographies, screenplays and was the editor of the Oxford Companion to English Literature. She was appointed CBE in 1980, and made DBE in the 2000 Honours list. She is married to the biographer Michael Holroyd.

 

Anya Serota says: 'THE PURE GOLD BABY is a novel of great beauty, wisdom and stealthy power. Across the team at Canongate, it bowled each and every one of us over, both established Margaret Drabble fans and those who had never read her before. We are thrilled to welcome Margaret to Canongate, and look forward to publishing this remarkable novel with all the passion and energy that it fully deserves.'

 

Margaret Drabble says:  'I am delighted with the welcome I have had from the enterprising and distinguished publisher Canongate, and look forward to working with the team.'