Yesterday's Houses by Mavis Cheek

Seven houses, three men and many disappointments

When sixteen-year-old Marianne Flowers, a naive but curious lower middle-class girl meets the well-off Charles and accepts his proposal of marriage she believes her dreams of living in a beautiful house with a luxurious bathroom are about to come true.

But life rarely turns out as one dreams. Over the next twenty-five years Marianne finds herself moving from grotty apartment to suburban haven and back again, accompanied by various lovers, a daughter and a yearning to write.

Yesterday's Houses shows Mavis Cheek at the height of her powers in this poignant, funny account of a woman whose journey to freedom, independence and good quality plumbing will delight fans of her previous work and new readers alike.

Every woman deserves a haven, and Marianne Flowers' strongest desire is to one day own a sweet-smelling, penthouse-sized bathroom where she can while away the hours reading and relaxing. Alas, she seems destined to live in dilapidated houses forever, but succeeds (more importantly) in renovating her brain and old-fashined feminine ideals through the sexual revolution and beyond. Following Marianne from her days as a clueless 17-year-old shop assistant in an upmarket London department store, to her first marriage with the controlling Charles, 'Yesterday's Houses' is an entertaining journey thorugh the dissolution of two marriages and a tumultuous love affair: the triumph of education, motherhood, a brilliant career as an author and the renovation of several horrible homes.

About the Author:
Following a basic and unambitious education Mavis Cheek left school at sixteen with no academic qualifications, an ability to type very badly and the looks of a perfect dolly bird. She began her working life as a receptionist for Editions Alecto, where she began to learn about modern art.

After twelve happy years she left to attend Hillcroft College for Women where she graduated with a distinction. Shortly after this her daughter was born and she began her writing career in earnest. In 1988 her novel Pause Between Acts won the She/John Menzies First Novel Prize.

Mavis Cheek, like her heroine Marianne Flowers, lived in many different houses during those years, each reflecting another milestone in the development of her life. Though the book is fiction it is very much based on some of the places in which she lived and the absurd and tragicomic experiences she lived through or observed during those years.

Allen & Unwin
Author: Mavis Cheek
ISBN: 9780571224234
RRP: $29.95