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The Sunday Times Bestseller

‘Lovely, lovely, lovely… Sue Townsend meets Kate Atkinson meets Nina Stibbe’ MARIAN KEYES

‘Powerful and profound’ Guardian

‘Another sure-fire hit’ Daily Mail

‘Funny, melancholy, acutely observant’ Sunday Express

There are three things you should know about Elsie.
The first thing is that she’s my best friend.
The second is that she always knows what to say to make me feel better.
And the third thing… might take a little bit more explaining.

84-year-old Florence has fallen in her flat at Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly. As she waits to be rescued, Florence wonders if a terrible secret from her past is about to come to light; and, if the charming new resident is who he claims to be, why does he look exactly like a man who died sixty years ago?

From the author of THE TROUBLE WITH GOATS AND SHEEP, this book will teach you many things, but here are three of them:
1) The fine threads of humanity will connect us all forever.
2) There is so very much more to anyone than the worst thing they have ever done.
3) Even the smallest life can leave the loudest echo.

Publisher Review

Praise for Three Things About Elsie: `A tale of ordinary lives and buried secrets ... a well-written, entertaining, effortless read with some arresting insights' Mail on Sunday `Light yet heartbreaking, a joy to read' i Newspaper `Funny, touching, and peppered with astute observations ... a future classic' CLARE MACKINTOSH, author of I Let You Go `Irresistibly good-hearted ... captivating' Daily Telegraph `Compassionate, thoughtful and tender, it is a novel exploring the pain of nostalgia and personal truths so painful we hide them even from ourselves' HANNAH BECKERMAN, Guardian `Another sure-fire hit for Cannon ... abounds with Alan Bennett-esque humour, as well as heart-wrenching sadness'Daily Mail `[Cannon] conveys the legion indignities of overlooked old age with touching perception' Sunday Times Culture `There is much to enjoy in this tender, big-hearted read about events that shape us, and lessons to learn about growing old and learning to forgive' Independent Ireland `Funny, melancholy, acutely observant ... your heart will finally crack in two on the last page' Sunday Express `Cannon is on her way to becoming a national treasure - no one does quirky, funny and soul-searing the way she does' Emerald Street `Charming, wise and profoundly human. I lived every page of this book' ERIN KELLY `Powerful and profound' Guardian `Poignant, witty and original' Woman & Home `More brilliant, generous storytelling... (a) funny, melancholic tale' Psychologies `A moving, bittersweet story' Good Housekeeping `A warm, wise novel - brilliantly entertaining - that also manages to be a timely and profound take on ageing. I loved it' KATE HAMER `A real treasure from Joanna Cannon's wry and amusing world, where the long view from the day-room is at once poignant and perceptive' JAMES HANNAH