Miss Hargreaves

Summoned by a wish, arriving with flamboyant presence and changing the lives of all she meets; imagine Mary Poppins as a high-handed octogenarian accompanied by a cockatoo, harp and bath This 1930s fantasy inspires laughter, tears and everything in between; readers will never forget Miss Hargreaves Author, actor, enthusiastic organist, BBC script editor and playwright, Frank Baker enjoyed great success with Miss Hargreaves (first published in 1940); the novel was produced as a play starring Margaret Rutherford in the title role and was adapted for radio in the 1950s

An endlessly surprising fairy tale from the 1930s, introducing an unforgettable heroine and a story that shows that anything is possible with a little imaginationWhen, on the spur of a moment, Norman Huntley and his friend Henry invent an eighty-three year-old woman called Miss Hargreaves, they are inspired to post a letter to their new fictional friend. It is only meant to be a silly, harmless game - until Miss Hargreaves arrives on their doorstep, complete with her cockatoo, her harp and - last but not least - her bath. She is, to Norman's utter disbelief, exactly as he had imagined her: enchanting, eccentric and endlessly astounding. He hadn't imagined, however, how much havoc an imaginary octogenarian could wreak in his sleepy Buckinghamshire home town, Cornford. Norman has some explaining to do, but how will he begin to explain to his friends, family and girlfriend where Miss Hargreaves came from when he hasn't the faintest clue himself? Will his once-ordinary, once-peaceful life ever be the same again? And, what's more, does he want it to? Miss Hargreaves is part of The Bloomsbury Group, a new library of books from the early twentieth-century chosen by readers for readers.