The Secret Lives of Sisters

Hannah has always felt in the shadow of her older sister, Cat. Cat is the flamboyant one, the one who can make everyone laugh. Hannah is so quiet that her parents often joke, Has Cat got your tongue?' Now Hannah has a daughter of her own, who is about to get married. On the day of the wedding, Cat s caustic tongue is once again let loose with devastating consequences. As Hannah is compelled to examine her past and to try to make sense of her complicated relationship with her sister, she begins to unravel the secrets and lies on which their seemingly normal family was built. While the truth has the potential to finally unite the sisters, it also has the power to tear them apart for good. Linda Kelsey s new novel has all the emotional intelligence, warmth and honesty that characterised her debut, Fifty is Not a Four-letter Word. It s a novel for every woman with a sister, and every woman who ever wanted one.

“'This is a coming-of-age novel with a difference.”

The story that unfolds reads like a beautifully written memoir. The lonely formality of Hannah's l950s childhood, the tragic and disturbing loss of her mother in her early teens, her sexual awakening in l960s Paris and her eventual discovery of true love, followed by the heartbreaking loss of her husband, are all vividly and truthfully told. But it is the portrayal of her relationship with her sister that is most compelling. The vulnerability she feels about winning her sister's love and their see-sawing between adoration and rivalry is so astutely crafted that it is painful to read. - Telegraph

THE SECRET LIVES OF SISTERS . . .derives its strength from its realism . . . the events and characterisations are highly plausible. - Saturday Telegraph

Linda Kelsey is a former editor of Cosmopolitan and SHE, and was twice awarded Editor of the Year. She is now a freelance journalist. She lives in London with her husband and son.

Hannah has always felt in the shadow of her older sister, Cat. Cat is the flamboyant one, the one who can make everyone laugh. Hannah is so quiet that her parents often joke, Has Cat got your tongue?' Now Hannah has a daughter of her own, who is about to get married. On the day of the wedding, Cat s caustic tongue is once again let loose with devastating consequences. As Hannah is compelled to examine her past and to try to make sense of her complicated relationship with her sister, she begins to unravel the secrets and lies on which their seemingly normal family was built. While the truth has the potential to finally unite the sisters, it also has the power to tear them apart for good. Linda Kelsey s new novel has all the emotional intelligence, warmth and honesty that characterised her debut, Fifty is Not a Four-letter Word. It s a novel for every woman with a sister, and every woman who ever wanted one.

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