23 SEPTEMBER 1995, page 39

A Call

`Hold on,' she said, 'I'll just run out and get him. The weather here's so good, he took the chance To do a bit of weeding.' So I saw him Down on his hands and knees beside the......

Twisting The Knife Away

Penelope Lively YESTERDAY IN THE BACK LANE by Bernice Rubens Little, Brown, £15.99, pp 247 A s an admirer of resounding opening sentences I warmed at once to this: 'My name is......

The Stranger After The Funeral

Isabel Colegate HIDDEN LIVES: A FAMILY MEMOIR by Margaret Forster Viking, £16, pp. 308 G uth is a common legacy of parents. We remember their last sad years and for- get the......