num_pages: 197
description: A dream house that is hiding something sinister; two women having lunch who share a husband; an old woman doing her weekly supermarket shop with a secret past that no one could guess; a couple who don't know each other at all even after fifteen years together; and in the story from which this collection takes its name a bird and a servant girl in ancient Pompeii who cannot converse but share a perfect understanding.In this new and varied collection of short stories Penelope Lively shows that she remains a master of her craft and one of our finest English writers.
language: English
title: The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories
publisher: Fig Tree