A Working Mother is a perfectly crafted novel that will enthral, entertain and surprise in equal measure.
Our unreliable narrator, Betty – arch, witty, clever – is married with children and feels trapped. While her husband, Adam, drinks and bemoans his lot in life, Betty flirts with their best friend Brendan and tries to avoid the roving hands of her new employer. Soon, Betty plots her escape.
Agnes Owens' sharp wit, dark humour and lean prose are expertly displayed in one of her finest achievements.
'Agnes Owens was an absolutely brilliant novelist' – Kirstin Innes
'A terrific writer' – Liz Lochhead
'Her black humour and piercing observation bear comparison with the work of Muriel Spark' – Guardian
Published to celebrate Agnes Owens' centenary year in 2026.
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'Owens pulls no punches. Her understated prose finds acerbic humour in the lives of characters hovering between farce and tragedy'
" - Observer
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'Owens is a gift to the Scots urban world'
" - The Sunday Times
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'Her black humour and piercing observation bear comparison with the work of Muriel Spark'
" - Guardian