Clare Chambers was born in 1966, attended a school in Croydon, read English at Oxford and wrote her first novel while she was living in New Zealand. She is the author of Back Trouble, A Dry Spell and Learning to Swim, which won the 1998 Parker Romantic Novel of the Year award. She now lives in Kent with her husband and young family.
Lessons in Harmony (2026) Jonathan Coe "I was completely convinced and engrossed by the fictional reconstruction of the friendship between those two very different composers. The writing has all the subtlety and wit that is customary for Jonathan Coe, but rare, and there is so much wisdom in it - about the sacrifices demanded of the friends and partners in the orbit of a musical genius, about rivalry, disappointment, and the convulsions of world politics."
Peck & Peck (2026) Bonnie Garmus "It was an absolute delight to escape into Bonnie Garmus's world of delinquent poets, demented publishers and recherche fonts. Her exuberant comedy and freewheeling imagination reminded me of John Irving in his prime. Many congratulations - no 'difficult second album' for Bonnie Garmus - I thought it was even better than her first."
A Family Matter (2025) Claire Lynch "I was caught up in this story of restraint and things unsaid from the first page. I loved the fact that there were no heroes or villains, and the novel's combination of hope for the future with an awareness of how much has been lost is perfect."
The Eights (2025) Joanna Miller "I so enjoyed The Eights and became completely involved in the lives of the four pioneering heroines whose friendship is the beating heart of the book."
The Correspondent (2025) Virginia Evans "I can't praise it enough. Sybil is such a wonderful character, and the supporting cast so vivid and real. For a book about grief and regret it is also properly funny. It's an absolute triumph."
The Rest of Our Lives (2025) Ben Markovits "Completely involving and so funny, wise and knowing about midlife disappointment and the melancholy compromises of marriage. I hope it gets all the praise and readers it deserves."
You Are Here (2024) David Nicholls "You Are Here is David Nicholls' funniest, warmest and most addictive novel yet. Perfect."
Clear (2024) Carys Davies "A wonderfully humane and moving depiction of loneliness and the connections forged between strangers that transcend all barriers, even language."
Music in the Dark (2023) Sally Magnusson "A wonderful and moving story, beautifully told . . . an episode of history brought vividly to life."
That Green Eyed Girl (2022) Julie Owen Moylan "I so enjoyed That Green Eyed Girl. The atmosphere of city heat and dust and stifling apartments was so vividly evoked. And I was equally invested in both narrative strands . . . I was hooked from the beginning."
These Days (2022) Lucy Caldwell "Meticulously researched, perfectly imagined, full of compassion and emotional truth."
Wahala (2022) Nikki May "I got so immersed in the lives of Simi, Ronke and Boo, such flawed, lovable women, I just raced through Wahala. Nikki May writes so well about friendship, food, fashion and the many ways modern women can stumble in their careers and personal lives."
Dinner Party (2021) Sarah Gilmartin "I loved her clean, forensic writing. Gilmartin is clearly a writer to watch."
The Black Dress (2021) Deborah Moggach "She really is the Nora Ephron of North London. Such a deceptively light touch, and so funny about the indignities of getting old and all our little vanities."
Widowland (2021) (Widowland, book 1) C J Carey "Clever, gripping and brilliantly imagined - a brave, bookish heroine takes on the forces of a chillingly convincing post-war dystopia."
Moth (2021) Melody Razak "Moth is a powerful and moving story of a liberal, Brahmin family caught up in the violence and social unrest of post-partition India. It is written with absolute fidelity to the small rituals of daily life, the allegiances and jealousies within families, and the huge and overwhelming forces of history. Every character springs from the page, involving the reader completely in their triumphs and sufferings - the writer's skill and sympathy are immense. I loved it."
On Hampstead Heath (2021) Marika Cobbold "Marika Cobbold writes with such a light, witty touch, strewing the story with great one-liners, but she isn't afraid to tackle dark themes too, and manages to bring even minor characters to vivid life with just a few telling strokes. On Hampstead Heath is a deliciously romantic comedy of misunderstandings and misbehaviour - I loved it."
Dog Days (2021) Ericka Waller "A charming, surprising and moving story of three troubled characters' encounter with love, grief, healing...and dogs!"
The Long, Long Afternoon (2021) Inga Vesper "Such a vivid atmosphere of stifling LA heat and stifling 50s domesticity - the brittle facades of those suburban mansions with their manicured lawns and maddened housewives. A homage to hard-boiled American crime fiction, but told with a distinctive female sensibility. Lovely!"
The Family Tree (2020) Sairish Hussain "I sped through The Family Tree, because I was so invested in the characters and eager to know their fate. The book was much darker and more tragic than I had been expecting - and all the better for it. An engrossing and moving story."
(b.1966)
