A Grand Old Time: The laugh-out-loud and feel-good romantic comedy with a difference you must read in 2018

A Grand Old Time: The laugh-out-loud and feel-good romantic comedy with a difference you must read in 2018
Judy Leigh

It’s never too late to have the time of your life . . .Heartwarming, hilarious and joyful – the perfect read for anyone who loved Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, A Man Called Ove, Ruth Jones and Jojo Moyes.Evie Gallagher is regretting her hasty move into a care home. She may be seventy-five and recently widowed, but she’s absolutely not dead yet. And so, one morning, Evie walks out of Sheldon Lodge and sets off on a Great Adventure across Europe.But not everyone thinks Great Adventures are appropriate for women of Evie’s age, least of all her son Brendan and his wife Maura, who follow a trail of puzzling text messages to bring her home.When they finally catch up with her, there are shocks in store . . . because while Brendan may have given up on life and love, Evie certainly has not.'Lovely . . . a book that assures that life is far from over at seventy' Cathy Hopkins, bestselling author of The Kicking the Bucket List’Brimming with warmth, humour and a love of life… a wonderful escapade’ Fiona Gibson, bestselling author of The Woman Who Upped and Left‘I absolutely loved everything about this book… 5* out of 5*’ The Ginger Book Geek‘By its end I’d laughed, cringed, felt really concerned, giggled, cried (rather a lot) and emerged into the rosier future with a heart broken, mended, and singing with joy’ Being Anne‘5 stars! I Loved Evie . . . She has a Passion and Zest for life… I want to go travelling with her! . . . If you read one book that is a little different this month let it be A Grand Old Time! You won't regret It!’ Dash Fan

Copyright (#ulink_8266f958-8b34-5eb1-8c0b-134a8363c7a4)

Published by Avon an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street,

London, SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2018

Copyright © Judy Leigh 2018

Cover illustration © Becky Glass

Cover design © Emma Rogers

Judy Leigh asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008269197

Ebook Edition © April 2018 ISBN: 9780008269203

Version: 2018-01-11

Thanks to Kiran at Keane Kataria and to Rachel Faulkner-Willcocks and her team at Avon, HarperCollins for being incredible and making this novel become real. To the talented MA students and lecturers, Falmouth, class of 2015, and to Sarah and Jim for letting me stay at the villa. To the Totnes writing group – thanks for conversations and creativity. To my early draft readers, Erika, Sarah, Beau, for their warmth and good humour. To Liam and Caitlan for their irrepressible intelligence and energy. To Tony and Kim for wild Sunday lunches. To Big G for all the love and for keeping me grounded. To my Dad, Tosh, and to my own Mammy, my inspiration.

Dedication (#ulink_8d36a38f-668a-5d41-9924-90d19c72f38b)

For Irene.

Contents

Cover (#u35412206-ad5b-523a-9046-36e4ba1e4248)

Title Page (#u9ae94679-c416-50b0-ab0f-37aa0928edf2)

Copyright (#u3e21e1ea-4047-562c-a7ff-1bc0c1e2422d)

Dedication (#uc4bd8b72-2455-5906-a61b-faa148b7e28a)

Chapter One (#u9fcb8320-70b9-5143-a9b0-e7cb84a38167)

Chapter Two (#u933822ec-a249-5a62-9b96-a3251a984535)

Chapter Three (#u512c8038-7564-53d8-8f05-b8a8b05b2941)

Chapter Four (#ubb1857b2-2978-5f17-9ef7-bae1d87bfe5a)

Chapter Five (#u389e8d2a-a941-57dd-b3d3-8893f6ea46fe)

Chapter Six (#ucdb43ffb-99c9-5481-8d7d-cade4395919c)

Chapter Seven (#u4121622f-a17a-5728-9434-2dab6ae2ceff)

Chapter Eight (#u06ce3981-0529-513e-aa05-cc96c9bb7caf)

Chapter Nine (#uf9c44ef7-d1a0-54e4-aa8d-918dae3881ba)

Chapter Ten (#u8707e207-8173-5f82-ae44-a1001c3ec52b)

Chapter Eleven (#u431a9ec5-05ca-5d35-b3fe-cb4c4dd4eabd)

Chapter Twelve (#u7fe24e8e-2a12-5c71-89d3-59b17b146835)

Chapter Thirteen (#u8de59f3d-976b-5039-a42a-125e38eed5d6)

Chapter Fourteen (#ub7ebbbb7-402f-5baf-bd8c-619216f1310f)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)