Fiction

THE MAN WHO UNDERSTOOD WOMEN AND OTHER STORIES

ISBN 978-1909 807-25-9
Arcadia Books Ltd.

The Man Who Understood Women brings together a collection of short stories, syndicated worldwide and published over the last 50 years, which reflect the changing role of women in society. Between 1956 and 2013 the stories have appeared in magazines including Adam International Review and Cosmopolitan – as well as in HouseWife, Good Housekeeping and Woman’s Realm, titles which in themselves provide a reflection of their readers’ erstwhile place in society.

The stories in this collection shed light on the social emancipation and growing independence of women as they begin to overturn centuries of tradition. While each story may not take long to read, their effects are far reaching and they are as entertaining today as when they first appeared.

Reflecting a gradual but heady change in women’s circumstances, The Man Who Understood Women provides a perceptive and convincing picture of inner lives which contemplate a future for women brighter and infinitely more exciting than any they had hitherto imagined. From the spinsterish Miss Phipps, with her lending library, who opens the door for her female readers to fulfil their fantasies – through the man whose life is haunted by an adolescent misdemeanour and the sad and sexually predatory New York millionairess – to the modern divorcée who briskly road-tests her internet date, the stories provide a witty and poignant portrait of women in a rapidly changing world.

PARIS SUMMER

ISBN 978 0709076216
Arcadia Books Ltd. (Kindle e-book)

In the hottest summer in living memory, Judith Flatland, together with her two children, leaves Boston and her work at the Museum of Fine Arts, to follow her husband, Jordan, to Paris, where he is about to finalise a high-profile business deal.

Bored with her role as ‘corporate wife’, conscious of her age, and suddenly aware that she has become sexually invisible, forty-two year old Judith feels jealous of and threatened by her nubile daughter and gets the impression that life is passing her by.

Cheating on her marriage and unable to help herself, Judith is drawn into a passionate affair with Félix Dumoulin, an urbane young artist. What begins as curiosity on her part and a bizarre wager on Felix’s, turns into a cataclysm and, in a poignant dénouement, Judith is forced to choose between her husband and her lover…

“A compelling and moving story.”   Bernice Rubens

INTENSIVE CARE

ISBN 978 0709076216
Arcadia Books Ltd. (Kindle e-book)

Professor Sidney Sands, wife of a mathematician and devoted mother of a young son, is researching a cure for a fatal lung disease when ironically she is diagnosed with the very condition she is investigating. Does this entitle her to jump the queue for scarce donor organs?

Doubts are raised about the hidden agenda beneath the life and death decisions doctors have to make. Will time run out before young Liverpool supporter, Colin Rafferty, realise his ambition of watching the World Cup? Will popular TV ‘soap’ star Gavin Wyatt have to be written out before the end of the series? Can US attorney Martin Bond’s money save his seventeen-year-old daughter, Anna?

Intensive Care reveals the highly charged human drama that lies behind ‘spare-part’ surgery. The anguished lives of those who wait for one man’s verdict are portrayed with great insight, sensitivity and compassion. It grips from start to finish.

“It is never less than an intelligent, thoroughly informative read.”   Jewish Chronicle, May 11 2001

“Thought it a beautiful, beautiful book. The first chapter was quite staggering. Took it slowly because I didn’t want to finish it. About choices. So moving.”   Bernice Rubens (Booker Prize winner)

“Your book has a reality that was powerful and convincing. I believed in the characters and their situations. The narrative carried along from start (and what a tour de force of a start it is) to finish, a testimony to your gifts as a story teller. I found it a deeply serious work exploring profound issues of morality, mortality, love. . . this particular reader ended the book with reluctance.”   Theo Richmond (prizewinning novelist)

VINTAGE

ISBN 978 0755101283
Pocket Books

Clare de Cluzac seems to have all she could ever want but underneath her confident exterior lie the scars of an emotionally brutalised childhood.

When her authoritarian, philandering father threatens to sell the family chateau and vineyards, Clare takes a big risk and flies to Bordeaux to run them herself, even though she will have to learn everything from scratch.

As she fights to overcome the many obstacles placed – often deliberately – in her way, she confronts old ghosts and grows into her new role as the chatelaine discovering on the way new knowledge and a deeper understanding of her own desires.

“…accomplished, zestful and invigorating.”   The Times Literary Supplement

“A funny and perceptive book.”   Cosmopolitan

GOLDEN BOY

ISBN 978 0755101276
Arcadia Books Ltd. (Kindle e-book)

This is one of Rosemary Friedmans best-loved novels. Freddie Lomax is a slick, work-driven city executive. Popular and sociable, others are immediately drawn to his charm.

Utterly without warning he is given two hours to clear his desk at the bank and he finds himself joining the ranks of the middle-aged unemployed. His confidence that a new job will appear proves unfounded. With time on his hands at home, his relationship with his wife Jane begins to suffer until, when he thinks he can go no lower, he discovers that he is not the only one with problems adn applies his talents to a last attempt to save his marriage

“What a story, what a storyteller!”   Daily Mail

AN ELIGIBLE MAN

ISBN 978 0755101276
Arcadia Books Ltd. (Kindle e-book)

His Honour Judge Christopher Osgood is utterly unprepared for life on his own when his wife dies. He is completely overwhelmed by a desperate loneliness and he finds himself bewildered by anything from the absence of clean pyjamas to the dress code of his daughters.

But as the months pass, he discovers that, as an attractive and eligible widower in late middle age, he is much in demand. Lucille mothers and seduces him, Sally offers friendship and Jo introduces him to her stylish town and country life – but with which one will he find the happiness he has lost and the contentment he is seeking?

“…accomplished, zestful and invigorating.”   The Times Literary Supplement

“A funny and perceptive book.”   Cosmopolitan

TO LIVE IN PEACE

ISBN 978 0755101252
Stratus. (2001 edition)

This novel pursues the story of Kitty Shelton from Rosemary Friedman’s delightful earlier novels Proofs of Affection and Rose of Jericho.

Kitty has watched her beloved husband die and her children grow to adulthood. She takes security from her role as family matriarch, but now her North London Jewish community is riven with dispute about the recent Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

At the invitation of her gentlemanly suitor, Holocaust-survivor Maurice Morgenthau, Kitty visits New York – where she learns to please herself and in so doing discovers herself too.

A SECOND WIFE

ISBN 978 0755101245
Arcadia Books Ltd. (Kindle e-book)

‘I was not a widow. Had I been married to Victor it might have been easier. It was Molly who had the comfort of the children, hers and Victor’s… I was left alone to come to terms with my grief, despair and anger, most of all anger in a society which is based upon the couple and in which death is unmentionable.’

After an affair lasting twenty-six years, Jean Banks’ married lover dies. Gradually the self-assured Jean is overwhelmed by loneliness, sleeping pills and depression. Routine tasks defeat her – and she avoids suicide only by a twist of fate.

In the midst of her unhappiness, a friendship blossoms with Victor’s widow, and ultimately life and love are rediscovered. A Second Wife, the sequel to A Loving Mistress, is the story of a very human recovery – the journey from darkness to all-enveloping love.

Friedman’s tender and moving novel. ”   Manchester Evening News

ROSE OF JERICHO

ISBN 978 0755101238
Arcadia Books Ltd. (Kindle e-book)

Kitty’s husband, Sydney, is dead, and eighteen months later, she is still struggling to come to terms with his death. She takes comfort in the lives of her children, and the full comedy and crises of Kitty’s circle of family and friends vividly unfold.

On holiday to Israel, in between awe-inspiring visits to the Dead Sea and the desert, she gets to know Maurice Morgenthau, reserved New Yorker and survivor of the Nazi concentration camps.

The friendship between them grows and Maurice helps Kitty gain a sense of perspective in her life. In turn, Kitty helps Maurice tell his harrowing story of survival for the fist time.

“Highly recommended for the sheer pleasure it gives.”   Literary Review

A LOVING MISTRESS

ISBN 978 0755101221
Arcadia Books Ltd. (Kindle e-book)

Jean Banks, a bright and attractive young doctor, falls suddenly in love with a prominent captain of industry, Victor Pattison.

There is only one problem: he is already married, and has a disabled wife whom, as he warns Jean at the outset, he will never leave. From that point on Jean’s life changes forever – her own engagement is cancelled, she gives up her hospital career, and even has a discrete abortion in order to avoid complicating their secret affair.

But despite her acceptance of these difficulties, slowly her situation becomes harder and harder to bear…

“Full of poignant detail.”   The Standard

PROOFS OF AFFECTION

ISBN 978 0755101214
Arcadia Books Ltd. (Kindle e-book)

One year in the life of a London Jewish family at a time of great change: Sydney Shelton’s business is not doing too well, but he has provided for his future and his worries are not about trade but about his own health and his children. Kitty, Sydney’s wife, knows how ill he is but they cannot talk about it.

Their children, now young adults, openly flout tradition and go against his wishes. What will happen to them if he dies? With a light satirical touch and great sensitivity, Rosemary Friedman explores the tensions and deeper feelings of a traditional Jewish family in North London.

Proofs of Affection, the first in a trilogy, covers a year in the lives of Sydney Shelton, his wife Kitty and their two daughters as they face the pressures of change in a secular society.

“A confident, sensitive and marvellously satisfying novel.”   The Times

“A classic of its kind.”   The Standard

THE LONG HOT SUMMER

ISBN 978 0755101214
Stratus (2001 edition)

Lorna Brown has everything…so why does she feel so dissatisfied? The clothes, the house, the Poggenpohl kitchen do nothing to give her life meaning.

The death of a friend makes her question her existence still further. Then she meets Armand, her daughter’s friend, and Lorna’s yearning for something different takes shape.

Envying the assurance and spontaneity of her daughter and her companions, she suddenly makes a decision and abandons her easy comfort for a squat in Regent’s Park. Will Lorna find there the contentment she craves?

“Readers will find it as affecting as it is intelligent.”   Financial Times

THE LIFE SITUATION

ISBN 978 0755101191
Stratus (2001 edition)

Oscar John has it all: a successful author, he has been happily married to Karen for sixteen years. They have two young children and their life is one of stability and contentment.

Suddenly this security is shattered when he meets Marie-Céleste, an elegant doctor, at a dinner party. As his sexual curiosity turns into passion and an all-consuming love, he is completely unprepared for what is to follow…

“An entertaining read.”   Financial Times

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

ISBN 978 0755101184
Arcadia Books Ltd. (Kindle e-book)

Through a series of events, in turn hilarious and tragic, we are drawn into the world of the GP. With a growing family, his wife’s new career as a writer and his own commitments as a family doctor, life is very hectic.

To ease the burden, he takes on a new partner – the colourful Dr Fred Perfect. With his purple taxi, his Zapata moustache and trendy clothes he cuts a dash with the patients at the practice. Fred introduces the doctor to the modern delights of pop music and fashion.

But life is not all trendy clothes and fashionable new town-houses: the doctor has some difficult professional challenges to face as well as the personal tragedy of the death of his oldest and closest friend.

Beginning with No White Coat and continuing with Love on my List, Patients of a Saint and The General Practice, this novel draws to a close the series following the trials and tribulations of a family doctor.

THE GENERAL PRACTICE

ISBN 978 0755101177
Stratus (2001 edition)

Rosemary Friedman continues her warm and humorous saga of the family doctor told in No White Coat, Love on my List and Patients of a Saint.

A year in the busy life of a GP is a frenetic combination of joy, comedy and tragedy. The doctor has an exhausting work schedule as he struggles to cope with a smallpox scare, the suicide of his partner, the poignant death of a lonely holocaust survivor and the unexpected joy arising from a fatal traffic accident.

As the year comes to an end the GP has time to reflect on the heartache and joy that the past twelve months have brought him, his family and his patients.

“Writes well about human beings whether they be pathetic, tragic or funny.”   Books and Bookmen

THE COMMOMPLACE DAY

ISBN 978 0755101160
Stratus (2001 edition)

Elizabeth Westbury, mother of two, has been married to Tim for seventeen years. With her comfortable domestic life and a circle of friends in suburban London, she has all the trappings of a contented existence.

However, she has a vague but depressing feeling that life is passing her by. Unable to pinpoint exactly what she is looking for, she craves an escape from the tedious demands of day-to-day tasks. Her disatisfaction focuses on Dobbie, an old friend, and she convinces herself that an affair with him would give meaning to her pointless existence.

This is a highly sensitive and perceptive portrait of a woman who is struggling to define and retain her identity against the relentless minutiae of everyday life.

“…revealing of suburban mores and snobbiness.”   The Times Literary Supplement

“…most adroitly and amusingly handled.”   Daily Telegraph

THE FRATERNITY

ISBN 978 0755101153
Arcadia Books Ltd. (Kindle e-book)

It is the early Sixties. The parents of law student, Peach Gatehouse, are both doctors and her brother is a medical student. She is in love with Henry but cannot contemplate life as a doctor’s wife.

Stifled by this medical environment from which she feels unable to escape, Peach is attempting to make her own way in the world. She is also learning to come to terms with the new world order and the changing views of her generation.

Through her experiences and friendships she gradually learns to define her own needs and values and is confident about the decision she eventually makes about her future.

“Up to date and entertaining story of a girl determined not to follow in her parents’ footsteps.”   Daily Telegraph

“A warm and perceptive novel.”   Doncaster Free Press

PATIENTS OF A SAINT

ISBN .9780755101146
Arcadia Books Ltd. (Kindle e-book)

The doctor’s practice, first introduced in No White Coat and again in Love on my List, is expanding. He finds himself buckling under the strain of an increased workload and the demands of his exuberant twins.

His wife, Sylvia, persuades him to take a much-needed break and he realises that it is time to find an assistant. This proves to be a difficult task, but once he has found the right man, the doctor has more time to devote to individual patients and to his family.

Into this busy environment arrives the doctor’s alluring cousin Caroline. On a study visit from the US, she invites herself to stay for six months – a situation which causes much chaos and hilarity.

“[Rosemary Friedman]…writes well about human beings, whether they be pathetic, tragic or funny.”   Books and Bookmen

WE ALL FALL DOWN

ISBN 978 07551011396
Stratus. (2001 edition)

Fifty-one-year old Arthur Dexter, a city businessman, is deeply shocked by the sudden death of his friend, Willie Boothroyd. The tragedy forces him to reassess his life and he realises he is dominated by the tedium of everyday concerns.

To his wife’s horror, he buys a block of flats and a small beach café at Whitecliffs-by-the-Sea. He then invites a group of people he meets in a pub to come and live there for the summer to help him run the café.

They all have their own reasons for escaping from London, but the exhilarating sea air and change of scene gives the group renewed vigour and enthusiasm, until, by the end of the summer, each one of them has found an unexpected solution to their problems.

“A very human novel.”   Glasgow Bulletin

LOVE ON MY LIST

ISBN 978 07551011396
Arcadia Books Ltd. (Kindle e-book)

The young GP is adapting to married life with Sylvia while contending with the endless demands facing a family doctor. His initial worries that Sylvia may be hankering after her glamorous life as a model prove unfounded as she embraces her new role as a GP’s wife with enthusiasm and competence.

Continuing the story begun in No White Coat, the doctor learns to deal both with the personalities and ailments of the patients on his list.

As the story comes to a close, he is presented with an even greater challenge: the joys and demands of fatherhood.

“This…sequel to No White Coat describes with first-hand insight and a delightful humour the day-to-day life of a young doctor in general practice.”   Books of the Month

“…its success is assured.”   Bristol Evening News

NO WHITE COAT

ISBN 978 0755100378
Arcadia Books Ltd. (Kindle e-book)

When the young registrar leaves his post in the hospital for a career in General Practice, he has a lot to learn. There is no white coat to buffer him from the immediate demands of his patients and no support from colleagues to aid diagnosis. He also has to cope with rejection from the beautiful Sylvia who has no desire to be a GP’s wife.

As he gets to grips with the demands of his new position, he grows in confidence and acquires a deeper knowledge and understanding of his profession, his patients and himself.

This is the first of a series of five novels about the eventful life of a young GP.

“An amusing lively tale of a young doctor’s first year in general practice.”   Methodist Recorder

“A delightful and easily read story of the day-to-day life of a family doctor.”   Weekly Scotsman