Reasons to be cheerful : Winner of the 2019 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction

Lizzie Vogel's story continues in Reasons to be Cheerful, the brilliantly comic sequel to Nina Stibbe's hilarious books Man at the Helm and Paradise Lodge. WINNER OF THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE FOR COMIC FICTION WINNER OF THE COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT PRIZE 'I read all of Reasons To Be Cheerful in one glorious gulp' CAITLIN MORAN ***** Teenager Lizzie Vogel has a new job as a dental assistant. This is not as glamorous as it sounds. At least it means mostly getting away from her alcoholic, nymphomaniacal, novel-writing mother. But, if Lizzie thinks being independent means sex with her boyfriend (he prefers bird-watching), strict boundaries (her boss keeps using her loo) or self-respect (surely only actual athletes get fungal foot infections?) she's still got a lot more growing up to do. From the bestselling author of Love, Nina comes a brilliantly funny and heartbreaking story of growing up and finding the independence you might not actually want . . . ***** 'Funny, charming, odd-in-the-best-way and gorgeously uplifting! A delight from start to finish' MARIAN KEYES 'Pitch perfect vintage comedy' GUARDIAN 'Lives up to its title' SUNDAY TIMES 'Joyful. Stibbe's comedy probes what it means to become an adult' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Loved it! I so love Lizzie. She is brave and kind and funny and totally original' KATIE FFORDE 'Comedy gold . . . Reasons To Be Cheerful is just the read you need right now' STYLIST 'Nina Stibbe is an author of such effortless wit that she could turn a shopping list into a bestseller' WOMEN AND HOME NINA STIBBE'S NEW NOVEL ONE DAY I SHALL ASTONISH THE WORLD IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW An Achingly Funny Tale Of A Teenager Falling In Love With The Wrong Person, In 1970s Leicestershire 18 Year Old Lizzie Vogel Finds Herself A New Job In A Dentist's Surgery After Answering A Classified Advert In The Leicester Mercury For A 'mature Lady With A Strong Interest In Dental Issues'. Working For An Eccentric Dental Surgeon Who's Obsessed With Becoming A Freemason, Lizzie's Life Is Uneventful, Until Andy Nicolello Turns Up One Day To Deliver A Crown. Lizzie Seizes Her Chance To Find Love, And Soon Begins Calling Him Her Boyfriend Even Though They Have Never So Much As Kissed Or Even Sat Next To Each Other On The Sofa. But Andy Doesn't Turn Out To Be Quite What He Seems... Reasons To Be Cheerful Is A Painfully Funny Account Of Life As A Hapless Teenager In 1970s Leicestershire From The Bestselling Author Of Love, Nina, Man At The Helm And Paradise Lodge. '____________________________________'When people in the village heard I was about to start working in the city they tried to unsettle me with tales of woe. The sun, blotted out by the tall buildings, couldn't shine and the rain was poisoned by the toxic fumes that poured from the sock factories. My skin would be covered in pimples from the hell of it all'______________________________________ 'This made me laugh and broke my heart ... Stibbe is one of the all time greats' Katie Fforde'There is innocence, and the loss of innocence, and the reassertion of a wider and better sort of innocence.' Red Magazine, Women and Home