Coupling

'One of the most interesting unsung novelists of her generation' Sunday Telegraph

‘It was all such a dreadful muddle. How could she sleep with Max, fantasise about Tony (and other men as well), yet also want Elizabeth, want her more than anyone?’

Beattie’s lover Max has given her a very special birthday present – a weekend away at England’s most exclusive health farm. But if he had known what was to happen there, he would have bought her a diamond instead.

For thirty-year-old Beattie, who has always fancied men, suddenly finds herself attracted to a woman – a woman twenty years older, cultured, privileged, a mother of four, a grandmother, even. Her initial infatuation erupts into a passion which threatens to take over her life as, desperately, she seeks admission into Elizabeth’s inner sanctum – her work as a psychotherapist, her family, her very soul.

Beattie’s long-standing ambition to establish herself as a journalist now becomes part of her obsession: if she can make her name, she will be more worthy of Elizabeth, more an equal partner. Max’s high status in the newspaper world means he can provide valuable help and contacts, but he strongly disapproves of ‘bloody shrinks’ and of Elizabeth in particular. The bizarre three-cornered relationship becomes increasingly explosive when Elizabeth falls in love with a man from her distant past, and the rejected Beattie reacts with murderous rage.

Wendy Perriam’s genius at putting ordinary people into extraordinary situations is seen to brilliant effect in this intriguing story of obsession, sexual confusion and, ultimately, redemption, as Beattie moves beyond jealousy to forgiveness and self-fulfilment.