Praise for THE RARE AND THE BEAUTIFUL: 'Paints some wonderfully vivid pictures of how difficult the Garmans must have been to live with.' Sunday Telegraph 'Connolly writes with great elegance and perception about this ruthlessly sensual family.' Literary Review 'A rollicking mix of the familiar and surprising.' Sunday Times 'A sobering coda and an often hilarious tale.' Independent t Praise for THE HAPPIEST DAYS: 'Read it, and arrange for someone to scrape you off the floor.' Time Out 'Cressida Connolly has an exact, quizzical eye, a generous imagination, and the power to draw readers into the strangeness of being a stolen child, a lion tamer, a woman waiting to be tattooed.' Helen Dunmore 'That rare and wonderful hybrid, tales which are both utterly unexpected and beautifully written ! I'd recommend them to anyone.' Daily Mail

Cressida Connolly was born in 1960. She is a journalist, reviewer and the author of one previous book, The Happiest Days. She lives in Worcestershire with her husband and three children.