Two sisters, one recently moved to Canada and in cultural shock, the other trapped in keep-up-appearances London. Both with exasperating, disorganised, busy lives and ultra-demanding families. They exchange emails and we laugh, wince, empathise and cry at their antics. Comparison: Allison Pearson, India Knight, Helen Simpson. Similar this month: Judy Astley, Tony Parsons.
When your family snapshots resemble NSPCC ads and it takes a quick-witted au pair to prevent your guests from burning alive, you have well and truly arrived in motherhood…
Charlotte and Nell are sisters who live thousands of miles apart, each coping, or rather not coping, with the incalculable demands of wife and motherhood. The daily battle to avert domestic disaster and keep up with the Dickenson-Jones's is abated only by their hilariously candid e-mail exchange.
…An honest and cringingly familiar journey into the world of modern motherhood.
Both authors live in London and have 4 children each. Benedicte Newland lived in Toronto, Canada for 5 years and her husband was editor of The Toronto Globe and Mail.