Audiobooks by Clare Chambers

Intact: A Defence of the Unmodified Body

Brought to you by Penguin. In an age of social media and selfies, of pixel-perfect pictures and surgically-enhanced celebrities, the pressure to change our bodies can often seem overwhelming. We are told we should conceal the signs of ageing and get our bodies back after pregnancy. We ought to perfect our complexions, build our biceps, trim our waistlines, cure our disabilities, conceal our quirks. More than ever before, we should contort our physical selves to prejudiced standards of beauty and acceptability. In this thought-provoking work, acclaimed political philosopher Clare Chambers argues that the unmodified body is a key principle of equality. While defending the right of anyone to change their bodies, she argues that the social pressure to modify sends a powerful message: you are not good enough. The body becomes a site of political importance: a place where inequalities of sex, gender, race, disability, age, and class are reinforced. Through a clear-sighted analysis of the power dynamics that structure our society, and with examples ranging widely from body-building to breast implants, makeup to male circumcision, Intact stresses that we must break away from the oppressive forces that demand we alter our bodies. Instead, it offers a vision of the human body that is equal without expectation: an unmodified body that is not an image of perfection or a goal to be attained, but a valued end in itself. © Clare Chambers 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Clare Chambers (Author), Alix Dunmore (Narrator)

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The Editor's Wife

Brought to you by Penguin. From the highly-acclaimed author of SMALL PLEASURES - longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021 When aspiring novelist Christopher Flinders drops out of university to write his masterpiece (in between shifts as a fish delivery man and builder's mate), his family is sceptical. But when he is taken up by the London editor Owen Goddard and his charming wife Diana it seems success is just around the corner. Christopher's life has so far been rather short of charm - growing up in an unlovely suburb, with unambitious parents and a semi-vagrant brother - and he is captivated by his generous and cultured mentors. However, on the brink of realising his dream, Christopher makes a desperate misjudgement which results in disaster for all involved. Shattered, he withdraws from London and buries himself in rural Yorkshire, embracing a career and a private life marked by mediocrity. Twenty years on, a young academic researching into Owen Goddard seeks him out, and Christopher is forced to exhume his past, setting him on a path to a life-changing discovery. Praise for Clare Chambers: 'Thoroughly enjoyable and very clever' Sunday Express 'Effortless to read, but every sentence lingers in the mind' Lissa Evans 'Beautifully observed and achingly funny' Woman & Home 'Chambers' eye for undemonstrative details achieves a Larkin-esque lucidity' Guardian 'Reminds us of the rare pleasure that an intelligent tale with a happy ending brings' The Sunday Times © Clare Chambers 2007 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Clare Chambers (Author), Joshua Riley (Narrator)

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In A Good Light

Brought to you by Penguin. From the highly-acclaimed author of SMALL PLEASURES - longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021 Without even noticing, Esther Fairchild has become locked into routine. Living with her adored brother, Christian, she divides her time between illustrating children's books, nightly shifts as a waitress, weekly visits to her father and fortnightly meetings with her married lover. Then one day she encounters a face in the crowd which jolts her out of her mundane existence and makes her question both her life and the past that has helped to shape it. Memories she had long chosen to forget begin to resurface. Memories of an eccentric childhood in a large and shabby house, where the children were left to fend for themselves within the loose boundaries of their parents' unorthodox values. A chaotic existence peopled by a rich collection of feckless 'guests'. And into this shambolic world came Donovan - regularly deposited by his unreliable mother - and Penny, Christian's girlfriend and Esther's idol. Until tragedy struck and shattered their joint existence. But now, it seems, their lives are about to become intertwined once more . . . Praise for Clare Chambers: 'A wonderful novel. I loved it' Nina Stibbe 'Effortless to read, but every sentence lingers in the mind' Lissa Evans 'A captivating read' Woman's Own 'An irresistible novel - wry, perceptive and quietly devastating' Mail on Sunday 'Shines with an old-fashioned moral certainty that is as subtle and refreshing as it is unexpected' Independent on Sunday 'An almost flawlessly written tale of genuine, grown-up romantic anguish' The Sunday Times © Clare Chambers 2004 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Clare Chambers (Author), Imogen Church (Narrator)

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Learning To Swim

Brought to you by Penguin. From the highly-acclaimed author of SMALL PLEASURES - longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021 Abigail Jex never expected to see any of the Radley household again. The Radley's were extraordinary, captivating creatures transplanted from a bohemian corner of North London to outer suburbia, and the young Abigail found herself drawn into their magic circle: the eccentric Frances, her new best friend; Frances' mother, the liberated, headstrong Lexi; and of course the brilliant, beautiful Rad. Abigail thought she'd banished the ghost of her life with them and the catastrophe that ended it, but thirteen years later a chance encounter forces her to acknowledge that the spell is far from broken... Praise for Clare Chambers: 'Modern, intelligently observed and highly original' Daily Mail 'This delicious novel is a joy from beginning to end - a perfect novel' Lisa Jewell 'Charming - A funny and moving story with a great deal of style' Sunday Telegraph 'A spirited account of growing up and falling in love' Good Housekeeping 'An intelligent and escapist read - well written, and very funny' Daily Express © Clare Chambers 1998 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Clare Chambers (Author), Antonia Beamish (Narrator)

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