The story of Thomas Hardy's death told by his housemaid Nellie. 1928. As Thomas Hardy lies on his death bed at his Dorset home, Max Gate, a tug-of-war is taking place over his legacy ... and the eventual fate of his mortal remains. What counts for more: the wishes of his family and dutiful second wife, Florence? the opinion of his literary friends? Hardy's own express desires? or 'the will of the nation'? Narrated with wit and brutal honesty by housemaid Nellie Titterington, Max Gate is both an entertaining insight into the eccentricities of a writer's life, and a raw, intriguing tale of torn loyalty, ownership and jealousy.

Paddy Thompson, speech therapist, newspaper columnist, is fifty and happy. His dark period is behind him: a failed marriage, a career crisis. Now he lives with Helena ('the best thing that ever happened to him'), helps kids with their speech problems, and has moved his mother into the next-door apartment. His life feels sane and settled. So what are these new signs of upset? One of his clients refuses to speak. Helena is under stress at work. His newspaper column has run out of puff. Paddy buys a bicycle. He feels, with a typical metaphorical flourish, that 'one of those great wheels of life had begun a revolution'. Then his mother presents him with the biggest challenge of his life. What follows, in this wonderfully expansive novel, takes Paddy deep into the vortex of family love.

Witty and acute, this daring collection of stories is a sharp-eyed look at modern relationships and the pressures and delights of everyday life. With control and humor, this ensemble of fables, satires, notes to self, snapshots, and vignettes from one of New Zealand's finest authors offers beautiful yet disquieting views of contemporary living in easy, conversational tones.