Second novel from the author of The Men from the Boys.

Philip Collins had an impressive debut with the bestselling The Men from the Boys. That was a story on male friendship. Now with Bobby Dazzler he looks at what we make of our lives.

The market stall and the Amateur Dramatic Society are the twin poles of Georgie Lees' working existence. She is the organiser of the market and the star of the local theatre. Her son, her mother, and sometimes her ex-husband, are the cornerstones of her life.

Mary, her mother, one-time publican, popular neighbourhood performer and brilliant needlework designer, is beginning to show early signs of erratic behaviour; her son is struggling at school and, at ten, is too old to be cuddled for comfort but too young to talk to; and his father, the local funeral director, seems to spend more time talking to the plants in his allotment than to any of them.

Georgie is offered what she had always wanted: the chance to perform professionally. But should she – could she – take the opportunity when her family seem to be in such need?

It is the growing difficulties of her mother that bring a new player into her life, the comical but efficient, dramatic but stoic Brian. And it is death that irrevocably changes their lives and asks the question lying behind all their choices – how should those with no religious faith find meaning in life?

Praise for Philip Collins

'The characters live and breathe. I wanted to see how they reacted, what they had to say. I kept turning the pages.' New Statesman

'A sparkling novel that draws you in and refuses to let go. A book that dares tell some hard truths about Britain: that we are a society where chance and class can break a friendship and seal your fate.' Jonathan Freedland

'This confident debut novel has a particular fascination and charm in a tradition that stretches back to the matchless Alan Sillitoe.' Daily Mail

Philip Collins, now director of the Social Market Foundation, was Head of UK Strategy for an international bank, a tutor at Cambridge, and a producer at the BBC. He writes for numerous newspapers and magazines and is a frequent contributor to Newsnight and the BBC World Service. He lives in London with his wife.