Elspeth Barker

'A sparky, funny work of genius' Ali Smith At the bottom of a great stone staircase, dressed in her mother's black lace evening dress, twisted in murderous death, lies Janet. So end the sixteen years of Janet's short life. A life spent in a draughty Scottish castle, where roses will not grow, and a jackdaw decides to live in the doll's house. A life peopled by prettier, smoother-haired siblings, a Nanny with a face like the North Sea and the peculiar, whisky-swigging Cousin Lila. A life where Janet is perpetually misunderstood - and must turn from people, to animals, to books, to her own wild and wonderful imagination. A W&N Essential with an introduction from Maggie O'Farrell

'This book is heaven. Elspeth Barker writes like no one else' Olivia Laing In Notes from the Henhouse, you will find a Gothic castle, a draughty Norfolk farmhouse and a malevolent Aga. A pet pig, Portia with a penchant for drama, an obsession with geraniums and an addiction to wine (the Bulgarian vintage). George Barker, poet and beloved husband, warbling cowboy songs into his glass and declaiming Hopkins and Houseman in The Drinking Room. Five entrancing baby cherubimos, rolling and bouncing about in a big brass bed, before growing up at breakneck speed. The ecstasy of writing, the dither of procrastination, and the endless adventures to be had in the wild realms of the imagination. The outrage of death, the loneliness of widowhood, and then the surprising joys of dereliction: of moving very slowly round the garden in a shapeless coat, planting drifts of narcissus bulbs for latter springs. This collection of autobiographical essays from the inimitable Elspeth Barker, author of the beloved modern classic O Caledonia, is a delightful portrait of a riotous, rapturous, remarkable life. A W&N Essential

A sharp and witty collection of autobiographical essays by the late Elspeth Barker--acclaimed journalist and author of the beloved modern classic O Caledonia. Following the publication of her acclaimed, darkly funny novel O Caledonia, Elspeth Barker's sharp and witty essays appeared regularly in the national press. Notes from the Henhouse, a selection of the most personal of these pieces, welcomes readers into the celebrated writer's life. Tracing Barker's upbringing from her Scottish roots, these essays beautifully capture her time with the poet George Barker and her profound sense of loss following his death. She writes about George's former lover Elizabeth Smart and other figures from 1950s bohemia and 1960s counterculture. Pieces like "Thoughts in a Garden," equal parts hilarious and moving, read like dispatches from the front lines of country living, depicting the vagaries of raising a large family and assorted pets in a damp and drafty farmhouse. Vivid, charming, and wholly original, Notes from the Henhouse is a wonderful glimpse into the life of an extraordinary writer.

'This book is heaven. Elspeth Barker writes like no one else'OLIVIA LAING'Deserves to be permanently on the bedside table - to cheer, reassure and inspire'OBSERVER'Gothic, poetic and exuberantly funny. What a pleasure it was to read'ESTHER FREUD'Joyous, startling, funny, lush, dark and complex'THE TIMESIn Notes from the Henhouse, you will find:A Gothic castle, a draughty Norfolk farmhouse and a malevolent AgaA pet pig, Portia with a penchant for drama, an obsession with geraniums and an addiction to wine (the Bulgarian vintage)George Barker, poet and beloved husband, warbling cowboy songs into his glass and declaiming Hopkins and Houseman in The Drinking RoomFive entrancing baby cherubimos, rolling and bouncing about in a big brass bed, before growing up at breakneck speedThe ecstasy of writing, the dither of procrastination, and the endless adventures to be had in the wild realms of the imaginationThe outrage of death, the loneliness of widowhood, and then the surprising joys of dereliction: of moving very slowly round the garden in a shapeless coat, planting drifts of narcissus bulbs for latter springs. This collection of autobiographical essays from the inimitable Elspeth Barker, author of the beloved modern classic O Caledonia, is a delightful portrait of a riotous, rapturous, remarkable life.

In the tradition of Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, a darkly humorous modern classic of Scottish literature about a doomed adolescent growing up in the mid-19th century--featuring a new introduction by Maggie O'Farrell, award-winning author of Hamnet. Janet lies murdered beneath the castle stairs, attired in her mother's black lace wedding dress, lamented only by her pet jackdaw... ​Author Elspeth Barker masterfully evokes the harsh climate of Scotland in this atmospheric gothic tale that has been compared to the works of the Bront s, Edgar Allan Poe, and Edward Gorey. Immersed in a world of isolation and loneliness, Barker's ill-fated young heroine Janet turns to literature, nature, and her Aunt Lila, who offers brief flashes of respite in an otherwise foreboding life. People, birds, and beasts move through the background in a tale that is as rich and atmospheric as it is witty and mordant. The family's motto--Moriens sed Invictus (Dying but Unconquered)--is a well-suited epitaph for wild and courageous Janet, whose fierce determination to remain steadfastly herself makes her one of the most unforgettable protagonists in contemporary literature.

'I once decided to become friends with someone on the sole basis that she named O Caledonia as her favourite book' Maggie O'Farrell 'A sparky, funny work of genius and one of the best least-known novels of the 20th Century' Ali Smith 'Funny, surprising, exquisitely written and brilliant on the smelly, absurd, harsh business of growing up. The Brontë sisters and Poe via Dodie Smith and Edward Gorey' David Nicholls'An absolute sumptuous treat of a book' Elizabeth Macneal'A wonderful oddity - brief, vivid, eccentric, written with ferocious zest and black humour' Penelope Lively'The words sing in their sentences' The Times'The reader feels unalloyed joy on every page' Independent Vera was painting the pony's hooves gold in the dining room; Janet said this was bad for him; poison would seep into his bloodstream. At the bottom of a great stone staircase, dressed in her mother's black lace evening dress, twisted in murderous death, lies Janet. So end the sixteen years of Janet's short life. A life spent in a draughty Scottish castle, where roses will not grow, and a jackdaw decides to live in the doll's house. A life peopled by prettier, smoother-haired siblings, a Nanny with a face like the North Sea and the peculiar, whisky-swigging Cousin Lila. A life where Janet is perpetually misunderstood - and must turn from people, to animals, to books, to her own wild and wonderful imagination. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY MAGGIE O'FARRELL