AMANDA BROOKFIELD

If Life Begins at Forty, Charlotte doesn't feel she's off to a very good start As if a recent divorce, a thwarted attempt to move house and a twelve year old son in trouble at school were not enough, the husband of her closest friend Theresa starts to show rather too much interest in her as a newly single woman... Si "La Vida Empieza a los Cuarenta", Charlotte no cree que la suya vaya a tener un buen comienzo Como si un divorcio reciente, el desafortunado intento de mudarse de casa, o tener un hijo de doce años con problemas en el colegio no fuera suficiente, el marido de su mejor amiga Theresa empieza a mostrar un poco demasiado interés en ella como mujer ahora sin compromisos...

For some families, a year can feel like a lifetime. The Harrisons are a large and extremely close-knit family. But with the grandchildren fast becoming adults and elderly Pamela struggling to adapt to widowhood and the emptiness of Ashley House, the four children of the middle generation find themselves equally lost in a changing world. As preparations for 42 year-old Cassie's long-awaited wedding gather pace and an exotic family holiday is planned, sibling and marital bonds are stretched to breaking point: adultery, an unwanted pregnancy, shadows of past losses, suddenly a year of celebration threatens to become one of painful upheaval. Beset by such emotional chaos, how can the adults hope to guide their children in matters of the heart? Or are the children the ones who should be guiding them? A multi-generational story of love, lies and family ties, The Simple Rules of Love presents Amanda Brookfield at her perceptive and poignant best.

Widowed at the age of 43, Frances finds that she has to make a new life for herself. As her grief begins to lessen, she meets Daniel, a university lecturer who clearly adores her. But Daniel is only 26, and the age gap brings all sorts of problems.