'Both lyrical and real, light and darkly full of yearnings for a profound and lifelong love' Good Housekeeping

'Barker gathers confidence and power with each novel, and Poppyland is a rich, confident and emotionally convincing piece of writing' Sunday Times

On a freezing cold night in an unfamiliar city, a man meets a woman. The encounter lasts just moments, they part barely knowing one another’s names, they make no plans to meet again. But both are left breathless.

Five years on they live thousands of miles apart and live totally separate lives, except that they both still think about that night. So when they meet again it seems clear that they will do all they can to try and stay together, but can it be that easy? Will they be able to escape their past? Will they be able to take the risk they know they should?

A modern-day Brief Encounter * Daily Express *
Both lyrical and real, light and darkly full of yearnings for a profound and lifelong love * Good Housekeeping *
Barker is drawn repeatedly to the wheeling desolation of the Norfolk coast - this vivid evocation leaps off the page, as do the delightful snapshots revealing the hot-breathed collision of family life * Independent *
An insightful, highly readable novel * Daily Express *
Barker gathers confidence and power with each novel, and Poppyland is a rich, confident and emotionally convincing piece of writing * Sunday Times *

Raffaella Barker, daughter of the poet George Barker, was born and brought up in the Norfolk countryside. She is the author of seven acclaimed novels: Come and Tell Me Some Lies, The Hook, Hens Dancing, Summertime, Green Grass, A Perfect Life and Poppyland. She has also written a novel for young adults, Phosphorescence. She is a regular contributor to the Sunday Times and the Sunday Telegraph, and teaches on the Literature and Creative Writing BA at the University of East Anglia and the Guardian UEA Novel Writing Masterclass. Raffaella Barker lives by the sea in north Norfolk. www.raffaellabarker.co.uk @raffaellabarker