Vacation — Salley Vickers

From the author of Miss Garnet's Angel and the forthcoming The Cleaner of Chartres comes a relatable short story about family holidays.

When Beth decides to treat her husband Hamish to a short holiday in the Scottish Highlands, his paternal home, she does not bet on the arrival of Una, her oddball mother-in-law. Una's quirks - swimming outdoors (naked) in the freezing cold, her St Tropez perma-tan and breaking into song- naturally put a strain on the holiday, and on their relationship.

On the remote, windswept isle, surrounded by the idyllic Scottish countryside, it is almost possible to forget that they are accompanied by her.But when Hamish is called away on business, leaving his wife and mother together in the cottage, he fears that all hell may break loose...

Vacation includes a four chapter preview of Salley Vickers' fantastic new novel The Cleaner of Chartres, a charming and timeless novel about motherhood, love and community.

Salley Vickers is the author of the word-of-mouth bestseller Miss Garnet's Angel and several other bestselling novels including Mr Golightly's Holiday, The Other Side of You and Dancing Backwards as well as a collection of short stories Aphrodite's Hat. She has worked as a cleaner, a dancer, a university teacher of literature and a psychoanalyst. She is currently a RLF fellow at Newnham College Cambridge and she divides her time between Cambridge and London.