The Wendy House Book

What does the modern Ms want from life and love? It's a question that Imogen Edward-Jones attempts to answer in her third novel. In The Wendy House the choice is strictly limited to domestic goddess or dedicated career woman. Charlie is a war photographer who has spent her life taking pictures of "charred bodies, mass burials", and she returns from her travels emotionally bruised and a little worn out. Her sister Kate used to be "feisty, funny, clever and naughty" but now is a yummy mummy with a gorgeous house. Early on in the book it's pretty clear where Imogen Edward-Jones's sympathies lie and it isn't with the sister with the collection of copper pans and organic vegetables. Charlie may embark on a disastrous love affair with a fellow photographer and she may have spent her life travelling from hell hole to hell hole, but her choices are represented as vital, viable ones. Kate's aspirational lifestyle is treated with not so subtle contempt. It's no surprise to discover that her domestic idyll is far from idyllic, and that her husband is two timing her with her best friend; the judgmental odds are stacked against her from the start. By the end of the novel Kate has realised that she "used to have a life" and she wants one again. Charlie is still taking photographs, but has also managed to find true love. What the modern Ms wants, according to The Wendy House, is a bit of work, a bit of play and a bit of romance. --Eithne FarryRead More