Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Buy New
$10.48
Qty:1
  • List Price: $14.99
  • Save: $4.51 (30%)
FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books.
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Man at the Helm: A Novel has been added to your Cart
Want it tomorrow, March 29? Order within and choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Ship to:
Select a shipping address:
To see addresses, please
or
Please enter a valid US zip code.
or

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See this image

Man at the Helm: A Novel Paperback – January 5, 2016

by
Nina Stibbe (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Nina Stibbe Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Nina Stibbe (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars 68 customer reviews
See all 9 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Kindle
"Please retry"
$7.66
— —
Hardcover
"Please retry"
$18.75
$6.68 $0.27
Paperback
"Please retry"
$10.48
$6.48 $3.43
Audible, Unabridged
"Please retry"
$0.00
Free with your Audible trial
When I'm Gone
When I'm Gone by Emily Bleeker
Even the happiest marriages have their secrets. Learn more
$10.48 FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books. In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Frequently Bought Together

  • Man at the Helm: A Novel
  • +
  • My Name Is Lucy Barton: A Novel
  • +
  • My Brilliant Friend: Neapolitan Novels, Book One
Total price: $37.65
Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Back
  1. Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home
    Nina Stibbe
    3.6 out of 5 stars 130
    Paperback
    $13.35 Prime
  2. My Name Is Lucy Barton: A Novel
    Elizabeth Strout
    3.6 out of 5 stars 1,046
    Hardcover
    $15.91 Prime
  3. Fates and Furies: A Novel
    Lauren Groff
    3.5 out of 5 stars 1,109
    Hardcover
    $19.54 Prime
  4. My Brilliant Friend: Neapolitan Novels, Book One
    Elena Ferrante
    3.9 out of 5 stars 1,208
    Paperback
    $11.26 Prime
  5. Dragonfish: A Novel
    Vu Tran
    3.6 out of 5 stars 86
    Hardcover
    $15.15 Prime
  6. The Incarnations: A Novel
    Susan Barker
    3.9 out of 5 stars 77
    Hardcover
    $19.13 Prime
Next
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Product Details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Back Bay Books (January 5, 2016)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0316286702
  • ISBN-13: 978-0316286701
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,699 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsToo much of a good thing?
By Sue Kichenside on September 9, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Fans of word-of-mouth bestseller Love, Nina: A Nanny Writes Home (and I count myself among them) will no doubt love this novel by Nina Stibbe so I know I'm swimming against the tide here when I say I didn't. I found it twee. It is narrated by 10-year old Lizzie who veers - as you'd expect from a bright youngster - between knowing and naïve. Here, Stibbe's distinctive voice, so appealing in Love Nina, is trying just that little bit too hard.

The book opens with Mrs Vogel and her three children moving to an unwelcoming Leicestershire village after the desertion of Mr Vogel. Lizzie and her 11-year old sister put the villagers' frostiness down to their mother's divorced status and resolve to find her a new husband to 'take the helm'.

The author clearly wishes to portray Mrs Vogel as fey and whimsy when in fact she is nothing of the sort; she is one of the most dangerously irresponsible mothers I have ever come across in fiction. Addicted to whisky and sedatives, falling for unsuitable men, slovenly in the extreme, financially reckless, she fails on every level to look after her three children.

When the youngest (seven) gets lost at a fairground while he is in the care of his older sisters, the mother's lack of concern really becomes intolerable. I didn't know whether to find this character merely unbelievable or bordering on barking mad; either way I couldn't cope with her maternal negligence. Whilst the children appear to be resilient, I felt too sorry for them to enjoy this book though I did like how it ended.
7 Comments 31 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsVery funny and a worthy read
By streborjc on April 20, 2015
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I heard the author, Nine Stibbe on NPR and hoped the book would be as entertaining as the interview with the author --- and it was! Very funny and a worthy read. I have already told most of my friends to read it!
Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsFamily values
By nose in book on April 2, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
At first I thought I was reading an updated I Capture the Castle, and in a way I guess I was-charming children who try to rescue their drifting, unhappy parents. But this book is funnier and (to me) much more touching. Other readers have mentioned that having been a single mother during the 70s gives an extra resonance to the misadventures of the characters. I was one, and it does. But the pleasure I got from the book was because of the excellent writing and the very funny and compelling story.
Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
3.0 out of 5 starsI didn't find that a particularly funny premise and I felt sad more than amused as ...
By B. Smith on June 17, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Readers who aren't current with British slang and idioms will be just as confused as I was reading this book. I don't think the author had an American audience in mind at all, but some judicious editing or footnotes would have helped a lot. The humor in this book is derived from the desperation of two adolescent sisters trying to find a new husband for their divorced mother, who is an emotional mess. I didn't find that a particularly funny premise and I felt sad more than amused as I read the book.
Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
2.0 out of 5 starsVery disappointing, did not deliver what I had hoped
By Maxine (Booklover Catlady) on October 13, 2014
Format: Paperback
When I read the blurb for this book I was super excited to read it, I really thought I was on to a winner with this book. I was expecting to be laughing out loud and smiling all the way through it. Instead I was groaning with boredom and wanting it all to end quickly and painlessly. Needless to say I felt this book was a real letdown.

So little Lizzie and her siblings move to a small village, you know the ones, where everyone knows your business? Their mother gains a reputation simply by being divorced (shock horror) but also because she is a bit, ahem, well....friendly to many local chaps, come in for a cup of coffee and stay the night type of thing.

The book is told purely from Lizzie's perspective, I found this got very boring after a while. The characters have no opportunity to shine either, I found them all very flat and one dimensional. This book should have been amazing, but it just wasn't.

The two sisters take it upon themselves to write a list of potential new suitors for the role of "Man at the Helm" or in other words, a man for their mother to help the family claw back some reputation and make their mother happy. They also take it upon themselves to set up some meetings between their mother and the suitors, which does have some lightly funny moments amongst it on the way.

There are some nice moments, even a few slightly funny moments in the book, but not enough to salvage it. By the middle of the book it was just dragging on with a load of waffle and minor events that I was nearly asleep reading it. I don't think I would have missed much.Read more ›
Comment 13 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsLiked it
By E. Elder on March 22, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
As a quirky divorcee myself in a small town during the 70's, I loved it. It was a bit hard to hold on to in the middle because the mother seemed hopeless, but she eventually comes through.
It was odd being divorced then. While everyone was celebrating the new sexual liberation of the times, it really didn't apply to mothers.
Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
3.0 out of 5 starsIt is really five star with big reservations.
By Amazon Customer on May 14, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I liked this book. It was witty, funny, provoking, poignant (oh, I hate that word.) and very profane. The profane part is what bothered me the most.
The story is related though the eyes on an eleven-year-old. It is jarring to her her flippantly use cursing and refer to her mother's sexual and drug episodes. It seemed very unnatural and well beyond the ken of that age child in the 1970's. It made the story seem less believable and added such a jaded edge to the novel.
So, what would have been a five star review, fell to a three. Add five years to the child's age and I might have believed the tale.
Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 starsanyway I would not recommend this book

It's fanciful, childish . . . anyway I would not recommend this book.

Published 15 days ago by EMMS
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Funny and touching. It helps to be an Anglophile and to like children. I'd enjoy a sequel.

Published 21 days ago by Xandra W.
5.0 out of 5 starsSurprisingly funny

I loved this book. It's an odd little story about subjects that one would think would make for a serious, 'downer' story, but it's told with hilarious frankness through the eyes... Read more

Published 26 days ago by trailrider
4.0 out of 5 starsA fun read, doesn't overwhelm with complexity

Humorous story told from the point of view of a divorcee's daughter. Easy read. Hilarious in spots.

Published 1 month ago by Waldo Ricky
5.0 out of 5 starsI'll read anything she writes.

I will read anything Nina Stibbe writes--especially the autobiographical-ish ones. "Love Nina" is my favorite.

Published 1 month ago by J-Mac
2.0 out of 5 starsAppealing premise, but dull execution

Some people are natural writers, others think they can write but fall far short. Judging from this book, Ms. Stibbe falls into the latter category. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Raye
5.0 out of 5 starsEnchanting!

Wonderful characters, beautifully written. Never a false note, amusing, realistic yet somehow lyrical. It is one of those books that will stay with you.

Published 2 months ago by C. Wesson
4.0 out of 5 starsRefreshing read

This is the first book I've read of Nina Stibbe. I know she has at least one other book and hopefully she'll have another one soon. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Csmith
4.0 out of 5 starsfunny, and also heartbreaking

Charming, funny, and also heartbreaking.

Published 2 months ago by bungalowqueen
1.0 out of 5 starsLike Oil and Water.

Deeply disappointing. Two young charming, chipper English village sisters attempting to help their divorced, depressed mother, an alcoholic whore, by bringing men -- most of them... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Antoinette

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Man at the Helm: A Novel
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more
This item: Man at the Helm: A Novel
Set up a giveaway

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.