Skip to product information
1 of 1

Goldsboro Books

978-1473625174

How it Was - Signed, Lined & Dated

How it Was - Signed, Lined & Dated

by Janet Ellis

Publisher Two Roads

Released:

  • Signed
  • Lined & Dated
  • UK First Edition
  • First Printing
  • Hardcover


Regular price £24.99
Regular price Sale price £24.99
Sale Sold out
Rendering loop-subscriptions
Rendering loop-subscriptions

Available from:

Limited Edition Copies

View full details

About the book

A new, darkly compelling novel from Janet Ellis, author of the highly-acclaimed The Butcher's Hook. 'Janet Ellis writes with tenderness and wisdom . . . I veered between laughter and a lump in the throat, often on the same page. This book will sneak up behind you and break your heart.' Erin Kelly, author of He Said/She Said

In a 1970s village in rural Kent, lives go on in an unremarkable way. But Marion Deacon, struggling with being a wife and mother, is about to set events in motion that she cannot controlin a story of love, motherhood, betrayal, and long-hidden secrets . . . because everyone has at least one secret. Marion Deacon sits by the hospital bed of her dying husband, Michael. Outwardly she is, as she says, an unremarkable old woman. She has long concealed her history - and her feelings - from the casual observer. And she's learned to ignore her own past, too.

But as she sits by Michael's bed, she's haunted by memories of events from almost forty years ago. She and Michael were recently married; their children, Eddie and Sarah, still young. Theirs was an uneventful life in a small village. But, stiflingly bored in her role as mother and wife, Marion fell for a married man, an affair that sparked a chain of events which re-sets all their lives.

Moving between the voices of Marion, her teenage daughter Sarah and her youngest son, Eddie, How It Was is a story of love, loss and betrayal. Through Marion and Sarah, Janet Ellis explores the tensions at the heart of mother-daughter relationships, the pressure women face to be the perfect wife and mother, and how life rarely turns out the way we imagine it will when we are young.

Collapsible content

About the Author

Janet Ellis

Janet trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She has appeared in theatres up and down the country and on TV in everything from Dr. Who and The Sweeney to Jigsaw. She presented Blue Peter for four years in the eighties, and since leaving has worked as an actress, presenter, broadcaster and writer. She is a regular contributor to radio and TV, newspapers and magazines.


She is the author of The Butcher's Hook, longlisted for the Desmond Elliot Prize, and How It Was. She lives in London and has three children and five grandchildren.

  • Professionally Packed

    All of our books that have a dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.

  • Book Condition & Notes

    All of our books that a have dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.

  • An Interview with David Wragg

    An Interview with David Wragg

    Goldsboro Books

    We recently had the joy of hosting David Wragg as he signed copies of The Company of the Wolf, the sequel to The Hunters in the Tales of the Plains...

    Goldsboro Books

    An Interview with David Wragg

    We recently had the joy of hosting David Wragg as he signed copies of The Company of the Wolf, the sequel to The Hunters in the Tales of the Plains...

  • Goldsboro's Summer Bestseller List: London vs Brighton

    Goldsboro's Summer Bestseller List: London vs B...

    David Headley

    We’re delighted to reveal our summer bestseller lists from our independent bookshops in Brighton and London. This summer has been another incredible season for the book community, highlighting a strong...

    David Headley

    Goldsboro's Summer Bestseller List: London vs B...

    We’re delighted to reveal our summer bestseller lists from our independent bookshops in Brighton and London. This summer has been another incredible season for the book community, highlighting a strong...

  • An Interview with David Fennell

    An Interview with David Fennell

    Goldsboro Books

    We had David Fennell in to sign our copies of A Violent Heart! Full of suspense, the return of DI Archer will have you gripped until the very last page....

    Goldsboro Books

    An Interview with David Fennell

    We had David Fennell in to sign our copies of A Violent Heart! Full of suspense, the return of DI Archer will have you gripped until the very last page....

  • An Interview with Laura Shepperson

    An Interview with Laura Shepperson

    Goldsboro Books

    We recently had Laura Shepperson in to sign her special edition copies of The Heir of Venus. From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a new spellbinding retelling set at...

    Goldsboro Books

    An Interview with Laura Shepperson

    We recently had Laura Shepperson in to sign her special edition copies of The Heir of Venus. From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a new spellbinding retelling set at...

1 of 4