A Cry From the DarkBettina Whitelaw is a grand dame of the English literary scene. Approaching eighty, with a beautiful flat in Holland Park and a comfortable income, her life is not dissimilar to that of her wealthy, elegant neighbours. But her background most certainly is. Brought up in Bundaroo, a small town in the Australian outback, Bettina's childhood was dominated by the relentlessly blazing sun, the long daily walk to school, and by the simmering animosities of

But the fraught years of the 21st century have left an uneasy legacy

hoping to reconnect with his daughter and rebuild the life he left behind

You can't have the undead wandering about like lost souls

from Doris Lessing

and most are suspect

themselves persecuted almost to destruction

La Marquesa

Sonny is full of curiosity

Julian and Timmy confront a new challenge: what exactly is this puzzling scrape referred to as a 'strategy away day'

Ryan treats her better than Jake ever has

'Give me a girl at an impressionable age

Silent Night drifts across the ruins of a wrecked spaceship