Price £10.99
Format Paperback and ebook
Published 13 Nov 2014
Length 352 pages
ISBN 9781905559701
ISBN 9781905559718 (ebook)
click to order
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Sylvia Garland's Broken Heart
Helen Harris
When Sylvia Garland returns to England, after the death of her husband and half a lifetime lived abroad, the last thing she expects is to find love again. But when her daughter-in-law Smita announces she is pregnant, despite her own poor track record as a mother, she finds herself caught up in the excitement.
Before Sylvia knows it, she is 65 years old and head over heels in love - with her grandson.
Sylvia Garland's Broken Heart is a touching, witty look at family ties across the generations and the plight of grandparents when their children's relationships break down.
'This passionate, yet perfectly-controlled novel...is beneath the surface a smouldering furnace...It is a book with depth and resonance and pace.'
Jane Gardam
About Helen Harris
Helen Harris has published four novels and many short stories in a wide range of magazines and anthologies. She teaches creative writing at Birkbeck College, University of London and runs a life story writing programme for older people.
Latest News
December 2020
Helen considers how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected grandparents in relation to ‘Sylvia Garland’s Broken Heart’.
February 2015
In a piece for the Guardian Books Blog, Helen asks 'Where are all the grandparents in modern fiction?'
January 2015
An Interview with an Elusive Writer - a year after having started his search, essayist Stephen Devereux finally catches up with Helen Harris to discuss her very first short stories, her new novel, and everything in-between. Read the original essay, Where Are you Helen Harris?
'I was interested in writing about someone who comes back to London, sees how everything has changed and feels a foreigner in their own land'
Helen Harris discussing Sylvia Garland's Broken Heart in an interview with Ham & High.
December 2014
Listen to Helen Harris talk with BBC Radio 4's Jane Garvey about the trauma of losing contact with grandchildren
November 2014
The Observer: 'one of those rare novels that makes you brood on its characters in the intervals when you are not reading, and wonder what is happening to them...I can’t think of anyone better – at describing just how irritating everyone can be.'
The Booktrust: 'Sylvia Garland's Broken Heart is a sensitive portrayal of the complexities of modern family life...This absorbing reflection on the joys and sorrows of marriage and parenthood comes highly recommended.'
October 2014
Helen joins Simon in the office to tell him what to expect from her latest novel