Family money (Bawden) VMC 432 (And a Little love, a little learning) VMC 333

Family money is the third VMC that I've read this week. I read Nina Bawden a lot as a child - Carrie's war (which I believe is now a play in the West End), The peppermint pig and the Runaway summer to name but three. I came across her work for adults after that, and was surprised qand pleased when setting out on this challenge to find that she had been published by Virago. There are 14 of her novels, and I had already read A little love, a little learning, which I will mention briefly at the end of this post.

Family money is a gripping tale following what happens to 80 year old Fanny after she intervenes in a street brawl and is badly injured and suffering from amnesia. She owns a big house in London, and her children see it as an opportunity for them to convince Fanny to downsize and release money to meet their house-buying and other needs. However, this does not go to plan, and then Fanny regains her memory, with scary consequences.

Two covers here: the first which I own, and the more recent one.
I think however, that I preferred A little love, a little learning, perhaps because I prefer to read about the trials and tribulations of teenage girls a little more than I like to read about the problems of pensioners. It is the story of Joanna, Kate and Poll who live with their mother and stepfather, who find their lives disrupted when their aunt comes to live with them.

Two covers for A little love, a little learning. Unusually (or as far as my experiences to date show) the later green cover edition has the same painting for its picture as the first one.