Bestselling author Deborah Moggach comes to BridLit with a new novel, The Carer, a deliciously waspish, witty and poignant novel about ageing, sibling rivalry and having to grow up fast.

Moggach is known to many as the writer of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Tulip Fever, both of which have been adapted into films.

In her latest book, James is getting on a bit and needs full-time help.  His middle-aged offspring, Robert and Phoebe, employ Mandy who is happy to take him off their hands.

But Mandy has vices as well as virtues, and life, as it unfolds, suddenly becomes one that none of them can handle and does not curtail at old age.

Hannah Beckerman, writing for The Observer, describes The Carer as a ‘fine, timely novel’.

‘Moggach explores the topical question of care for the elderly and whose responsibility it is. She infuses what could be a dry subject with her trademark humour and pathos, reshaping a societal dilemma into a family drama, by turns compelling and surprising.

‘Moggach successfully subverts our expectations, taking the novel into unforeseen territory, exploring themes of desire, expectation and the ownership of collective family history.

‘All of this is rich territory, but Moggach’s nuanced characterisations make the subject matter really come alive.’

Deborah Moggach is in conversation with Susannah Simons at the Electric Palace on Friday 8 November at 2.30pm.