The Middling: Chapters in the Life of Ellie Toms by A. L. Barker was described by Rebecca West as 'The finest book written by a woman in our time.'

As a child, Ellie compulsively lies her way into trouble. How else can she escape the reality of being a railway clerk's daughter in a Crystal Palace villa?

She wants to love, but it never seems to work out right. She idealizes a beautiful school friend, only to uncover (with morbid fascination) a strange relationship between her friend and a middle-aged chemist. Her first affair is too good to last. It leads to a pregnancy and an uneasy menage a trois, which finally erupts into brutal vengeance.

After fifteen years of struggling with a marriage to the wrong man, Ellie starts drinking. It seems as good an escape as any at first. But it's another mistake. . .