Penelope Lively 
Passing On 

»Brilliantly captures the ecstasy and agony of falling in love . . . Highly plausible, utterly authentic, beautifully written» Daily Mail
Helen is fifty-two and Edward forty-nine when Dorothy, their mother, dies, ending her reign of terror and leaving them ill-equipped to deal with their lives. Timid, cautious and naive, Helen makes the charming Giles Carnaby, family solicitor, the object of a belated schoolgirl crush, while Edward, free to express his sexuality at last, finds it gets the better of him. Dorothy may be dead and buried, but her iron grip continues to hold them in its power.
Poignant, clever, and funny, Passing On is a novel about nostalgia, guilt, and desire, from the Booker Prize-winning author of Moon Tiger
»Lively is at her sharpest, alert to every conceivable irony» Jonathan Coe, Guardian