{"product_id":"a-short-road-to-longbrook-bethan-roberts","title":"A Short Road to Longbrook - Bethan Roberts","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"c-book-details__desc is-open\" style=\"transition: height 0.3s ease-in-out; height: 1091px; max-height: none; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA tender novel of mothers and daughters and the secrets they keep from each other, from the author of mega-bestseller\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eMy Policeman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA tender story of mothers, daughters and breaking family patterns, from the author of bestseller\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eMy Policeman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewhich became the hit film starring Harry Styles\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhen Winnie is happy, Lillian is happy, too.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s the mid-1960s and Lillian Wells is a clever teenager with a daring pixie cut, tangerine mini-dress and new boyfriend, Jim, who works at the brewery. Even better, he lives across the road, so she’s never far from her bee-hived, high-heeled single mother Winnie, who is prone to attacks of the nerves. But Lillian harbours secret dreams of going to art school in London. When she gets in, how will she tell her mother – and Jim – that she’s leaving Abingdon – and them?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eForty years later, Lillian’s own daughter Rachel is heading off to university, but Lillian is not sure either of them are ready. She sees herself and Winnie in Rachel, who is ambitious and intelligent, but also prone to nervous habits. As Lillian tries to bite her tongue about Rachel’s symptoms, she is reminded of what everyone in Abingdon used to say:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eIt’s a short road to Longbrook…\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ethe local institution for the mentally ill. Lillian knows this is all too true, but in a family where secrets run through generations like the rushing waters of the local river, can she bring herself to break the cycle and tell Rachel the truth about her past?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Roberts is an exceptionally tender and empathetic writer’\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eGrazia\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e384 pages\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003ePaperback\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"EmmasatOxford","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47506760597658,"sku":null,"price":38.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0013\/9024\/8009\/files\/a-short-road-to-longbrook-9781784746025.jpg?v=1770417487","url":"https:\/\/emmasatoxford.pro\/products\/a-short-road-to-longbrook-bethan-roberts","provider":"EmmasatOxford","version":"1.0","type":"link"}