|summary=Chilling story of one woman's ambition to mix with the literary elite. Funny, psychologically complex and superbly observed. This is really a superb debut novel.
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|aznuk=1780220014
|aznus=B0074AGMHY
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Harriet Lane's debut novel, ''Alys, Always'' garnered a raft of favourable coverage from the professional reviewers when it was first published in hardback. Concerning, as it does, a young woman who works as a sub-editor in a publishing company and a Booker winning novelist, there is always the chance that this was due to the reviewers merely recognizing the world that is portrayed. This view is unfounded though - it is a superbly drawn, frequently very funny, and often psychologically chilling story of ambition and class differences. It thoroughly deserves all the praise that has been heaped upon it.