Reviewed on Richard & Judy on Wednesday 30 July 2008.

Wise, inspiring and brilliantly compelling, this is an unforgettable debut novel that will pull on the heart strings. There’s a real quality about the writing, which is spare with not a word out of place and coupled with a quirky but excellent plot, stylish wit and plenty of emotional ups and downs it’s a book to savour. Pippa is an unforgettable heroine and the flashbacks to her less than ordinary childhood are cleverly intertwined with her life now with an elderly husband, 30 years her senior, who she is utterly devoted to.

To view a trailer for the film version of The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, click the screen below.

Synopsis

Pippa Lee is the devoted wife of a brilliant man thirty years her senior, the proud mother of grown up twins, and an adored friend and neighbour. But where once she was content with this seemingly enviable world, Pippa now finds her life beginning to unravel. Amid the buzzing lawnmowers and suburban coffee mornings, she starts to wonder, how did she find herself in this place? The Private Lives of Pippa Lee is a story of wild youth, unexpected encounters, affairs and betrayals, and the dangerous security of marriage.

Wise, inspiring and surprising, it brilliantly captures the challenges, confusion and excitement of modern life - and all the possibility that it holds.

Reviews

"With beautiful simplicity, Miller unravels Pippa's past and celebrates the stirrings of something new." Kerry Fowler, Good Housekeeping

"This intriguing novel is bound to get attention...intelligent, thoughtful writing." Lucy Atkins, Guardian

"A beautifully layered and subtle novel of identity, with a wonderfully vivid sense of place and character. And it's hesitatingly wise in all sorts of ways, as well as being a deftly constructed page-turner." Joseph O'Connor

About the Author

Rebecca Miller worked as a painter and actress before becoming a writer and director. She is the author of the short story collection Personal Velocity, her feature film adaptation of which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and also directed The Ballad of Jack and Rose, which starred her husband Daniel Day-Lewis, and Angela. She lives in Ireland and New York with her family. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation