* Bridget Jones meets Henry Pooter *In the mid-1980s, at the age of 38, Sylvia Smith moved into a room in Appleby House. The house was a shabby, peeling terrace in the East End; the proprietors were the kindly Mr and Mrs Appleby; her fellow tenants were all carefully selected single girls. This is the story of her time there, a brief tale full of incident - "I was washing some hand-knitted jumpers in my kitchen sink " - insight - "In my opinion toilets have to be spotlessly clean" - humour - "On a lighter note the bath heater began playing up " - and emotion - "He played badminton in a very subdued fashion". It is one of the most endearing comedies of day-to-day living around. Sylvia Smith writes of the familiar difficulties and delights of daily life with great attention to detail and a gift for hilarious deadpan. She introduces a host of colourful characters, from Laura the noisy neighbour to Ali the almost-stalker. With its wonderful cast and unusual narrator, this gentle, funny, truly original book is an enjoyable read which you will want to recommend to all your friends.'Sylvia Smith has the gift of making an ordinary life in which nothing much happens an absolutely delicious read . . . a hilarious and poignant little page-turner' Helen Fielding'Weirdly compelling and very funny' Daily Telegraph'Dot Cotton on temazepam' Independent