The Andersons are a military family with honours and traditions stretching back two hundred years. When the second Iraq war breaks out, it is only natural that their newest generations should be represented in the ranks of British officers: at 24, Lieutenant Susie Anderson delays her wedding to handsome fellow-officer Callum and joins her regiment on the hot sands of Kuwait. Brother Francis, meanwhile, continues his cabaret career as Madam Fanny Fantoni, drag chanteuse and net-stockinged vamp, with a stinging line in repartee and the most remarkable falsetto top C in Clapham. As the neighbours agree, it must be terribly difficult for their poor parents, especially the General. Real difficulties come, though, when Callum comes home injured, altered and bitter, and Susie and her family feel as though their lives are shattered. The solution to this tangle comes from the most unlikely source of all.
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'An eclectic mix of meticulously researched settings ... Purves's prose is clear and unfussy' -- Observer 'Convincing and enjoyable ... there is a warmth and sincerity about this novel that makes one care about its outcome.' -- Sunday Telegraph 'A joy to read' -- Good Book Guide
About the Author
Libby Purves is a writer and also a broadcaster who has presented the talk programme Midweek on Radio 4 since 1984 and formerly presented Today. She is a main columnist on the Times and in 1999 was named the Granada "What the Papers Say" Columnist of the Year, and awarded a O.B.E for services to journalism. She lives in Suffolk with her husband the broadcaster and writer Paul Heiney.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gallantry; the battle with oneself,
By rachelreader (London UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Acting Up (Hardcover)
Review of Libby Purves Acting Up
This is one of Libby Purves' better efforts. Military family, daughter Susie goes as officer to the Gulf, son Francis continues his career as a `drag chanteuse.' Both show the inherited family courage, whether at war or under fire from a discontented audience - he insists on facing them again with a different act. Francis also puts on what is described as his own private ENSA act when Susie's fiancé is sent home wounded from the gulf. Some sailing action for those who like that and all - or at least most - of the different characters face trials with guts and kindness. There's even a happy ending for this enjoyable read
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