The classic story of a chaotic, creative family

'The whole is suffused with love. To write well and with such open-hearted affection is an achievement' Observer

'A funny, though sometimes melancholy, story of irresponsible and drunken bohemianism ... A clever and touching debut' Guardian

Gabriella lives in a damp, ramshackle, book-strewn farmhouse in Norfolk with her tempestuous poet father and unconventional mother. Alongside her ever expanding set of siblings and half-siblings, numerous pets and her father’s rag-tag admirers, Gabriella navigates a chaotic childhood of wild bohemian parties and fluctuating levels of poverty.

Longing to be normal, Gabriella enrols in a strict day school, only to find herself balancing two very different lives. Struggling to keep the eccentricities of her family contained, her failure to achieve conformity amongst her peers is endearing, and absolute.

Come and Tell Me Some Lies is Raffaella Barker’s enchanting first novel – a humorous, bittersweet tale of a girl who longs to be normal, and a family that can’t help be anything but.

A gentle, charming account of a family of cosmopolitan sophistication living in a rural shambles * Evening Standard *
The whole is suffused with love. To write well and with such open-hearted affection is an achievement * Observer *
A funny, though sometimes melancholy, story of irresponsible and drunken bohemianism * Guardian *
I love Raffaella Barker's books - so funny and acerbic * Maggie O’Farrell *

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