Caroline Moore

There is nothing cosy about Penelope Lively

Though she’s often dismissed as the ‘housewife’s choice’, her selected stories show her as beady, unsentimental and thoroughly modern

Penelope Lively at the Edinburgh Book Festival in 2015. [Getty Images]

  • Metamorphosis: Selected Stories

    Penelope Lively

    Fig Tree, pp. 324, £20

Already a subscriber? Log in

This article is for subscribers only

Subscribe today to get 3 months' delivery of the magazine, as well as online and app access, for only £3.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

  • Weekly delivery of the magazine
  • Unlimited access to our website and app
  • Enjoy Spectator newsletters and podcasts
  • Explore our online archive, going back to 1828

Read next

Trending

Steerpike

Listen: Scottish Green MSP sobs on radio over coalition collapse

Steerpike
If the Scottish Greens are good at anything, it’s making every issue about themselves. While the First Minister of Scotland faces two votes of no confidence next week — one in his own leadership and another in the SNP government — his party’s former coalition partners continue to vent their anger at the breakdown of

Because you read about booker prize

Also by Caroline Moore

Latest

Comments

A blooming good offer

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting the next 3 months for £3.

Already a subscriber? Log in