Instances of the Number 3 - Tapa dura

‘Salley Vickers is a remarkable optimist. She shows that happiness can be found even after it seems to have died.’ David Sexton, Evening Standard

‘Gentleness of perception and sharpness of intellect ... sustains you long after the last page.’ Bel Mooney, The Times

‘Admirable. Salley Vickers has a way with persuasive characters and crisp narrative.’ Penelope Lively, Independent

‘Vickers writes sympathetically about the bereaved women as they remake their lives.’ Margaret Walter, Sunday Times

‘Studded with observations and asides that stop you in your tracks.’ Julie Wheelwright, Scotland on Sunday

‘The reader glides through it effortlessly. The plot is simple, yet has an amazing amount of narrative power. Vickers’ second novel confirms that she will have a long and outstanding career.’ Martyn Goff, The Times

‘Lovely. Distinctive grace.’ Murrough O’Brien, Daily Telegraph

The much anticipated new novel from the bestselling author of ‘Miss Garnet’s Angel’. Salley Vickers has been hailed as the new Penelope Fitzgerald by critics and readers alike.

Bridget Hansome and Frances Slater have only one thing in common. And that's Peter Hansome, who has died suddenly. Without their husband or lover, the women find that before they can rebuild their lives they must look to themselves and unravel mysteries that they had never before even suspected. So begins an unlikely alliance between wife and mistress and a voyage of discovery that is as comic as it is profound.

INSTANCES OF THE NUMBER 3 is a funny, beguiling exploration of love, bereavement, Shakespeare, illusion and the impossibility of escaping your past.

‘Compulsive, like the Sultan listening to Scheherazade.’ John Bayley