Major Ernest Pettigrew (Ret'd) is not interested in the frivolity of the modern world. Since his wife's death, he has tried to avoid the constant bother of the village women, his ambitious son and the suburbanisation of the English countryside. He prefers to lead a quiet life, upholding the values that people have lived by for generations - respectability, duty and a properly brewed cup of tea (very much not served in a polystyrene cup with teabag left in). But when his brother's death, and a love of Kipling, sparks an unexpected friendship with the widowed village shopkeeper, Mrs Ali, the Major is forced to confront the realities of the twenty first century. Written with a delightfully dry sense of humour, "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" is a charming, against-all-odds love story that introduces unforgettable characters and questions how much risk one should take for personal happiness in the face of family obligation and tradition.

Author Biography

Helen Simonson spent her teenage years in a small village in East Sussex, near Rye. A graduate of the London School of Economics, she recently completed an MFA at Stony Brook, Southampton. Her short stories and essays have been featured in various publications and broadcast on radio. After many years living in Brooklyn, New York, Helen currently lives in the Washington D.C. area with her husband and two sons. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is her first novel.