Penelope Mortimer 
The Pumpkin Eater 

In this extraordinary, semi-autobiographical novel, Penelope Mortimer depicts a married woman »s breakdown in 1960s London. With three husbands in her past, one in her present and a numberless army of children, Mrs Mortimer is astonished to find herself collapsing one day in Harrods. This strange, unsettling novel, shot through with black comedy, is a moving account of one woman »s realisation that marriage and family life may not, after all, offer all the answers to the problems of living.
 »Beautiful … almost every woman I can think of will want to read this book » Edna O »Brien