The Death and Life of Ellen Fenton

"A powerhouse writer. Every Yvvette Edwards book makes me excited. The rich, psychological tapestries she creates for her characters are second to none." Irenosen Okojie author of Nudibranch

Ellen Fenton’s life project was her big, beautiful Caribbean family. Now, a wife, mother and grandmother, on her deathbed, she realises it was all for nothing.

Didn’t she love hard and keep a home with the same honey-voiced man she met as a young woman in Montserrat, overcoming even the toughest of betrayals? Wasn’t her home filled with laughter, especially in those early years when it provided warmth, food and plenty of drink for those newly arrived in Britain? And what about her dear friendships and the one she cherished even more than her marriage? As Ellen closes her eyes for the last time, a life unfolds on the page.

Honest, filled with compassion, heartache and humour, this is a rich account of one woman’s overwhelming capacity for love. Love for her family, for her community and in the end, most importantly, for herself.