THE QUEEN'S MARGARINE
IS OUT NOW - PUBLISHED
BY ROBERT HALE
In Wendy Perriam’s sixth short-story collection, catalysts for life-change come in surprising forms. A small, white curly dog pursues a man from pub to office, turning his whole existence upside-down. A collection of porcelain figurines drives an elderly widower to escape his home and find solace with Marilyn Monroe. A bunch of orange tulips propels a staidly married librarian into the arms of an exuberant poet. A pair of returned Eurostar tickets whisks long-separated lovers towards heady new romance.Many of Perriam’s characters harbour guilty secrets or long-suppressed desires. Spouses cheat on spouses; restive mothers kick against their ties; loveless singletons yearn for poetry and passion in their lives. Not all her ugly ducklings succeed in turning into swans, but most do at least take wing - and sometimes a touch of magic intervenes.
In this inventive new collection, the mundane goes hand in hand with the miraculous – and even the Queen eats margarine.
Independent-on-Sunday ‘Books Interview’, by Peter Stanford:
"For the past quarter of a century, Perriam has been humorously chronicling the lives and inhibitions of those who habitually feel anxious, disappointed or sidelined. Her sixth short-story collection is peopled by classic Perriam types – single women pushing 40, in various states of desperation, wives aching to be free of emotionally distant husbands, and good-looking men who are not quite what they seem. Most of her heroines are paralysed by self-doubt, while many are prey to pent-up sexual frustration.
Comedy has always been part of her writing – sometimes accompanying joyous flashes of optimism, when characters break out and break free. The story, “High Speed 2”, for example, tells of a woman usually crippled by feeling inadequate, who casts caution to the wind and runs away on Eurostar with an older lover.
“If there’s a theme that unites my novels and short stories,” Perriam says, “it is that tension between the dutiful, the strict, the hard-working side, and the hedonistic, crazy, impetuous side. I’ve always felt I was born to be a wild child, but the Church did too good a job on me. I was crushed into being the person they told me I had to be.”
In writing about the fate of a cast of lonely characters so often overlooked in mainstream fiction, she has found a voice and a niche, a kind of Anita Brookner crossed with Berice Rubens, with a dash of Fay Weldon’s wickedness thrown in.
“For a lot of my life I have felt out of my depth,” Perriam says, with a dazzling smile.
For her as an individual, it is the cross that she carries; but as a writer, it is a rich seam she is continuing to mine."
Daily Mail:
Winner of the best title for a new short-story collection has to go to Wendy Perriam's "The Queen's Margarine", her sixth volume of short stories. However, the jaunty title belies its darker subject matter. Perriam is not afraid to tackle unpalatable subjects; writing vividly about grief and loneliness; her characters often caught between duty and spontaneity. A widower is driven mad by his late wife's collection of china shepherdesses; while, in the title story, a plan to control a bullying Queen Bee at a school reunion doesn't go quite according to plan.
The effect, while often humorous, can feel terribly poignant and moving. It's no wonder she's been compared with Anita Brookner.
Herald Tribune:
One of the finest and funniest writers to emerge in England since Kingsley Amis.
Sunday Telegraph:
The best of the stories are models of the form, bringing humdrum lives into brilliant focus, as events take an unexpected twist.
The Spectator:
Perriam’s strength is emotional accuracy, and the reader can’t help but become emotionally involved.
Surrey Comet:
"The Queen's Margarine" is a collection of 14 stories and demonstrates that Wendy Perriam - often lauded as one of the finest writers in Britain today - has lost none of her of her genius for pyschological insight and captivating prose.
Perriam’s first short-story collection,"Dreams, Demons and Desire", was praised as "a long-awaited treat - exciting and enchanting"; her second, "Virgin in the Gym", as "a feast of fantasy that will amuse and provoke in equal measure"; her fourth, "The Biggest Female in the World", as "literary, funny, moving. In a word, wonderful".
Download free the complete story "On The Road" from The Queen's Margarine below:
• CLICK HERE to download in Adobe Acrobat PDF format (128 kb)
(right mouse click & select "save target/link as")
(Note: This should be readable on most computers,
however you can download a free Adobe reader if required)
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