Perdita Tree, the bored and beautiful wife of Tory MP Nicholas Hodgekin, believes
that all married women, and perhaps all women everywhere, should have a magic door
through which they can walk into a different life
- 'utterly, utterly different, not necessarily better, just something other.'
So when she is kidnapped in Albania, she takes it in the spirit of one huge adventure.
Adored by her kidnapper, who believes all things English are perfect, she is persuaded
to rescue the Albanians from their dire history, and is vain enough to imagine that she can.
Together they ride across the country on horseback, singing Beatles songs and preaching freedom.
The year is 1991, democracy is coming, but are the Albanians ready for it? And are they ready for Perdita?
'This book is a delight... I loved it. It is an extremely serious novel, posing as one
which is simple and beguiling... it races along at a rate of knots, leaving the reader
smiling, satisfied, and impressed.' - Fay Weldon
'A captivating book - original, intelligent and very entertaining.' - Isabel Wolff
'Smart, fluid prose and sophisticated thought... a thoughtful, sorrowful and highly amusing novel' - Chris Power, The Times
About the Author
Olivia Fane was born in 1960. She studied classics at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, trained as a
probation officer, and worked as a psychiatric social worker. She lives with her husband and
five sons in West Sussex. Her first novel, Landing on Clouds, won a Betty Trask prize and an
Arts Council award, and received highly favourable reviews.
Publication date for
The Glorious Flight Of Perdita Tree: June 2005
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