On Turpentine Lane

At thirty-two, Faith Frankel has returned to her suburban hometown where she works in the fundraising department of her old school, writing thank-you notes to benefactors. Keen to get her life back on track, she buys a sweet but dilapidated bungalow on Turpentine Lane. Never mind that her fiance is currently 'finding himself' while walking across America and too busy to return her texts, that her witless boss has accused her of fraud, or that her father is going through a mid-life crisis that involves painting fake old masters and hooking up with a much younger woman - Faith is looking forward to a peaceful life in her new home. But when a policeman knocks on her door asking to look in the basement, she discovers that the history of 10 Turpentine Lane is anything but peaceful. On Turpentine Lane is a madcap comedy from one of America's most acclaimed novelists.

‘Elinor Lipman is the best writer you’ve never heard of – imagine if Elizabeth Strout wrote romantic comedies. On Turpentine Lane is whimsical but also gently savages the frailties of the human condition‘ – Red magazine, Elinor Lipman applies her singular brand of warm zaniness to Faith's dilemma... She has taken lessons from our great chroniclers of the quotidian, from Geoffrey Chaucer to Jane Austen. The result provides a light but serious antidote to what ails us all these days' - Washington Post,Light and tight, On Turpentine Lane is constructed with an almost scary mastery. Not a single thread dangles, not a single character is left without a place. The story folds out and back in as neatly as an origami flower, and Faith recounts it all with a raised eyebrow and plenty of cheek' - New York Times, With a witty cast of characters and her usual delightful dialogue and insightful observations of human behavior, she captures the complications of modern love' - Publishers Weekly,Delightful and amusing... reminiscent of madcap romantic comedies of 1940s Hollywood. A highly engaging, charming read' - New York Journal of Books

Elinor Lipman was born in Massachusetts and is the author of a dozen novels and counting. Her first one, Then She Found Me, was published in 1990 and was adapted into a film starring Helen Hunt, Bette Midler and Colin Firth. She won the New England Book Award in 2001, and her novel My Latest Grievance won the Paterson Fiction Prize. She lives in Manhattan, as well as in upstate New York. She is married with one son.

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